Paladin Bonding Moments
by silksenseoverload
Summary: A series of one shots following the daily lives of the Paladins of Voltron in between episodes or just on the calmer days in space. They may be (trying to be) professional on the field, but at the end of the day, they are still just ordinary people (more like kids in Shiro's eyes) [Inspired by Keith's infamous line 'We had a bonding moment! I cradled you in my arms']
1. Finding Shiro

**A/N:**

(save me from exams oml I'm dying)

One shots are nice to write, so like the procrastinator I am, I'm putting schoolwork on hold so I don't go insane :) here's a series of one shots about exactly what the hell the paladins are up to in between specific episodes or on calmer days.

 **#1 : Finding Shiro**

 **Summary: When Shiro suddenly goes missing after lunch, Keith rapidly searches to find the pilot of the Black Lion. He finds Shiro in a place he didn't think to look for, and feels _incredibly_ stupid for not thinking of it earlier. (SET DURING EARLY SEASON 1)**

 **Disclaimer - I do not own Voltron : Legendary Defender**

* * *

Keith pokes his head into the common room. Shiro was supposed to meet him at the training deck but he didn't show. Needless to say he started getting worried - call him paranoid but his only friend _did_ get abducted by aliens once.

"Have you guys seen Shiro?" He asks. Hunk looks up from his tablet and raises an eyebrow, "We've lost Shiro? Didn't we just see him at lunch."

"Yeah, but, he was supposed to meet me on the training deck, like a couple of minutes ago." Keith says.

"Cut the dude some slack, mullet-head" Lance's voice causes Keith to roll his eyes, "surely he's just hanging around Allura or something."

"Shiro is the most punctual person I know." replies Keith in his monotone voice usually only reserved for Lance.

"More like the only person you know, amiright?" said Lance giving Hunk a nudge with his elbow. "But seriously, he's probably hanging with Allura and Coran or something, because…you know, they're adults and they talk about boring grown up stuff?"

"I hope you don't mean battle plans," says Hunk, "because those aren't boring, those save lives, Lance."

Keith shakes his head, "I'll just go find Shiro on my own then." with that, he heads back to the training deck - just incase Shiro showed, but much to his disappointment, Shiro had yet to arrive. Keith's brows furrow unconsciously and decides to take Lance's advice. He locates Allura with Coran by the engine room, probably discussing on the next checkup for the castleship. After all, the ship has taken a lot of hits, especially when the particle barrier failsto work.

"Allura, Coran. You guys seen Shiro?"

"Wasn't Shiro with you?" Coran questions, stroking his mustache from habit. Keith simply shakes his head.

"Well," Allura started, "the castle is rather big, but locating Shiro shouldn't be that difficult." she wipes her dirtied hands on a towel next to the control panel and pulls up a map of the castle. "Try checking his room, or maybe with Pidge? Perhaps Shiro is bonding with his lion."

"I've tried his room, then the hanger, the common room, the kitchen, the control room, med room, lounge, training deck, and then the common room again, even the pool." Keith said, purposely leaving out the part about Pidge. To be completely honest, he was a little afraid to go to their workspace, especially since an idea struck their mind during lunch and they rambled about something to do with camouflaging suits or as they put it 'stealth mode suits' and rushed to the Green lion's hanger to get started. It was best not to disturb them when they were at such a state.

"Coran, perhaps you should install a tracking device for our paladins." suggests the princess. "He can't be far off, and he can't really _go_ anywhere, if the hanger opened, we would've been alerted."

"Not to worry, Number Four. I'm sure he'll pop back up in no time." Clean says putting a hand on his shoulder. "Now run along!" The advisor exclaims, as he spins Keith a full 180 degrees and ushers him out. "We've got a ship to check up on!" Keith complies grudgingly.

He stuffs his hands in his pockets and heads to wherever Pidge is. He admits that it's not the best idea, but...how deadly could Pidge be?

"KEITH I SWEAR TO GOD, IF YOU SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT AGAIN, YOU WILL KISS YOUR FUCKING KNEECAPS GOODBYE!"

"SHIT SORRY!"

So, perhaps looking for Pidge wasn't the best idea. He was running out of places to go. He wasn't worried, just…confused. In a castle like this, one could easily get lost, and despite the many rooms present in the castle, the paladins only used a few rooms. The rest remained locked because Coran didn't want the Paladins to mess with the stuff.

So where in the hell was Shiro? Keith ran into the common room once more, panting. He groans and flops himself onto the sofa.

"No luck?" Hunk offers. Keith simply shakes his head and buries his face in a pillow.

"Ugh, who let Keith steal my seat?" whines Lance, upon entering the room with his skin care products. He pushes Keith's legs off and sits next to him, using his body as a table.

Keith glares at his teammate before shifting everything off him and heads towards the Black Lion's hangar. The Black Lion sees him and opens her mouth, letting Keith inside. He raises an eyebrow in confusion and steps in.

There he was.

On the floor.

Asleep.

He was sprawled on the metallic floor, his boots discarded and his hair a fluffy mess. His robotic arm resting on his stomach as his human arm is used as a pillow.

"What the fuck, Shiro." He mutters. It took him two Earth hours - he's sure - just to find him. And he was _right here_. Keith inwardly groans in frustration because while he was up and running, trying to locate his friend, he had been sleeping here! Keith is perfectly aware that Shiro needs to bond more with his lion, due to reasons unexplained by Allura. Keith is also aware that Shiro wasn't the kind to use a bed as he claims that it's too soft, and it reminds him of sinking into a marshmallow and suffocating, but did he need to sleep inside his lion? Despite his efforts to stay quiet, the sound of his boots echo and Shiro sits up in fright, ready to fight Keith. "Easy, Shiro. It's just me." Keith assures him and sits down in front of him.

"I missed the training session, didn't I?" Shiro asks, rubbing his eyes with his human hand. Keith nods, "Sorry if I worried you."

Keith simply glares at Shiro as he smiles sheepishly. His eyes slightly curved into the shape of a crescent moon. It's hard to stay mad at him. "Just don't do it again." Keith commands. Shiro lets out a hearty laugh and pats Keith on the shoulder.

"No promises, Keith."

 ** _(no promises indeed #VoltronSeason2)_**


	2. I'm a teenager, I like to vent

**#2 : I'm a teenager, I like to vent**

 **Summary: In which the team finds Pidge travelling and working in a place they didn't think to look. Another event of 'try to find the paladin' occurs and Lance is losing it. Keith and Shiro think they've got it figured out. Hunk tries to stay calm and reason as the voice of reason (as always).**

 **Disclaimer - I do not own Voltron : Legendary Defender**

* * *

"Shiro, I'm telling you! The castle is alive! Like last time when it was poisoned by that glowing crystal venom thing-SHIRO! I'm not kidding!"

Allura turns her head to see the blue paladin following the black paladin like a young **turckling*** , complaining about the castle being haunted, again. She smiles softly and shakes her head.

"Lance, for the last time, the castle isn't haunted. We've cleared that up once before." Shiro says, exasperated with his teammate.

"No, no, no, no, I have proof!" Says Lance as he spots Keith exiting the training room.

"Okay, sure." Shiro laughs, "Where?"

"Keith! My buddy, my man!"

Keith audibly groans upon hearing his name. Allura decides to leave the millions of ideas Pidge has for the paladin uniforms to go over later, and join the fuss. She leans on the doorway, a smirk evident on her face as she watches Shiro use his human hand ruffle his hair and massage his temples. Needless to say, Lance and Keith are at it again.

"I agreed with you that _one_ time when we both _thought_ we heard something." Keith clarifies, "it must've just been the engines of the castle. It's not haunted."

"No, no, no. When I asked you about the castle being haunted you looked me right in the eyes and said 'must be'!" Lance said, taking a step closer to Keith.

"Stop putting words in my mouth!" the Red Paladin retorts, leaning towards Lance.

"Those were _your_ words, Mullet-head!"

"All right. Enough!" Shiro shoves both boys in opposite directions before they pull each other's hair or something.

"Ladies, ladies, you're both gorgeous." Allura says with a smile, as an attempt to decrease the tension.

"You've finally fallen for my looks, Princess?" Lance winks. Allura's smile immediantly drops into a frown. "The castle isn't haunted, it's just the-"

They all freeze. They all hear it. That constant patter. Then there's a soft giggling.

"Allura…try telling me that _that sound_ was just the castle engine." Lance says, hiding behind Allura, with his nails practically digging through her sleeves. She shakes Lance off and laughs nervously.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Lance!"

"Princess-"

"Lance, if the Princess says it's nothing, then I'm sure it's nothing." Shiro says, putting his hand on Lance assuringly. Lance only pouts and sags his shoulders, before muttering something none of them could catch (though Shiro thinks it's Spanish?) and heads off to Hunk's room.

"I'll umm..go check what that was." Allura says, Shiro lets out a chuckle.

"There's no need for that, Princess." Allura's head tilts adorably to the side (too adorable in Shiro's eyes) "There's nothing wrong with the ship. Just some troublemaking Paladins."

Keith eyes widen as if he's cracked a case. He stifles a laugh, but fails to do so. "Wait, wait, really? I thought, I thought you were joking!"

Allura's eyebrow raise, still waiting for Shiro to explain.

"It's just Pidge." both paladins say at the same time.

"According to Pidge's brother and father, my teammates from the Garrison, Pidge likes to pull these sorts of pranks. Especially ones like this. Matt said that they'd hide speakers everywhere in the house and try to spook each other out." Shiro explain, "There's no need to check if the castle's malfunctioning. Unfortunatley, it's the Paladins that are.

"Sorry Princess." he concludes.

Allura laughs, and shakes her head. "Well I'm glad _that_ 's cleared up." she says, "I'm not too fond of the idea of a haunted castle."

"Who ever is?" Keith says with a shrug. "Wait."

"Pidge." all three say at the same time.

—

After the whole 'finding Shiro' fiasco, Coran strongly suggested to put trackers on the Paladins, earning a raised eyebrow from the Princess. A week later, Allura regrets not giving Coran the green light for it.

It's been 3 hours and they have yet to locate Pidge.

"Why does this keep happening." Keith says to no one in particular. Shiro chuckles and pats him on the shoulder, then proceeding to mumble a half hearted apology. Keith knows Shiro's smiling cheekily without even glancing at the guy, needless to say it freaks Hunk out just a little.

Allura went through the cameras in the various corridors and rooms of the castle, but could not locate Pidge's current location. They were last seen in the kitchen, fetching a drink, and then they retreated back to their room. So the team checked Pidge's room first, when they found no one to be there, they had Coran stay in that area incase they came back.

The rest split up and listened to Keith, who regrettably, had searched the entire castle for Shiro _last time._ But that didn't sit well with Lance…

Who was he to listen to Keith? It wasn't like Keith was the leader, not to mention, Keith has been (and still is, kinda) his rival from the beginning. Ever since they met. So Lance did what no one should do when dire situations such as this occur : panic.

Lance has been on a rampage since the first hour they lost Pidge, claiming that it was his fault he didn't watch the small paladin. Hunk tried to comfort Lance, but he simply smacked the hand away, and raced towards another area of the castle. However, Lance isn't the only one going insane. Shiro felt protective over Pidge, especially since every time he looks at them…he see's his colleague, teammate, his _friend,_ Matt. He survived the Galra, and he'll do anything to keep the rest of the Holts safe.

Shiro wasn't showing his concerns as much as Lance was, considering that at one point the young paladin fell to his knees and screamed dramatically like in the movies. It took a frustrated Keith and a comforting Hunk to get him off the floor on and his feet again. Though both Shiro and Keith were sure Pidge was just hiding somewhere for a prank (or something), it didn't mean they didn't worry about the youngest and smallest Paladin.

While the team kept looking and practically screaming for Pidge, Shiro searched the higher grounds. If there's anything he knows about Pidge it's that they like to stay in high areas. Like pigeons. And from the stories Matt used to tell him, Katie Holt was quite the climber as a toddler. He went to the higher levels of the castle, perhaps Pidge was there, after all, the higher levels were much more quiet. They could enjoy the silence of space up on those levels. Also because Lance never goes there.

At the lower levels, Hunk made Lance hold his hand. He had enough of him either sprinting off or him lying on the castle floor, declaring that he'll "get up when I want to get up"

Keith went ahead, deciding not to put up with Lance's nonsense. Little did he know that he missed an open vent on the side of the castle wall...

Shiro wasn't having much luck, but he did find an open vent. Seemingly unscrewed but then again it could very well be ripped out the wall for whatever reason. What can he say? His teammates are very unpredictable. Anyway, he knew it wasn't unlikely that Pidge used the vents to get from place to place, but given that the paladins, plus Coran have been screaming their name, they would've come out to assure the worried bunch that they were fine. Quite frankly, it was the quietness of the vents that worried him. When Pidge wants to get from one room to another, a soft tapping sound would be audiable. At first Keith and Lance thought the castle was haunted, but then realised it was just the green paladin. Though Pidge promised not to use the vents to scare the boys again, that didn't stop them from using it entirely.

Keith seemed to be on the right track as he _finally_ notices the vent uncovered. He knew Hunk needed to keep an eye on Lance, and Allura probably wouldn't do it, so he sighs and climbs in.

"Keith! What are you doing!" Cries Lance, in agony. Hunk has a bored expression on his face, clearly 110% done Lance.

"I'll be right back." Keith assures him. He positions himself so he's slightly more comfortable and slides down. Then he hears something...something familiar. He crawls towards the origin of the sound (thank god this part of the vent was slightly flatter) and finds Shiro, also in the vent, hands full with Pidge's equipment.

"Oh hey there, Keith."

Keith raises an eyebrow, "you uh...need help with that stuff?"

"Yeah sure" the man replies, handing him a couple things, tangled with wires. "Can't believe Pidge keeps this stuff in our vents."

Keith shrugs, "I'm sure they have a reason."

"Yeah," says a voice, both Shiro and Keith turn their heads to face an annoyed Pidge, their hand held in front "and 2 of those reasons are holding my stuff." The pair widen their eyes simultaneously, before obediently passing the equipment to Pidge.

"What were you doing in the vents for so long? We were worried!" Says the red paladin, his uneasiness about losing his friend amused said friend.

"Didn't know you cared, emo boy" Pidge says with an eyebrow raised. "But to answer your question, we came across a planet earlier, and suddenly my Spotify was connected to some form of WIFI. So I just...you know, checked it out?"

"Hey guys, why don't you share with the class, we can hear you mumbling in there!" Hunk's voice echoed around the vents. The trio shrugged and made their way to the nearest exit.

When Pidge emerged from the vents, Lance quickly swoops them up in the air and hugs the life out of them. "I THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN, COMRADE" he rejoices.

"Good to see you too, Lance." says Keith, slightly bitter, given that a second ago Lance cared _so much_ about Keith disappearing into the vents.

"I thought you were setting up speakers around the castle." Shiro said stretching his limbs as they were uncomfortably cramped in the vents.

Pidge's eyes widen, they turn to Shiro guiltily, "you know about that." Shiro smiles and pats them on the back, reassuringly. Pidge makes a mental note on how Shiro is less of a brother and more of a dad. "I wasn't planning on doing that, you know." they say, "I just travel via vents a lot. Gives me time away from-"

"PIGEON WHAT WERE YOU DOING INSIDE, YOU COULD'VE BEEN LOST!" Lance says, shaking the green Paladin violently.

"Wh-hy. Did. I-I. Le-eave. Th-eh. Ven-te-s." They manage to say. Hunk stops Lance before Pidge's glasses flies off their head. Or just...before Pidge's head flew off, period.

"I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I'D DO WITHOUT YOU. YOU'RE MY TEAMMATE, MY FRIEND, AY DIOS MIO I THOUGHT I LOST YOU FOR ETERNITY'

"Oh be quiet, _Tailor_. I'm a teenager, I like to _vent."_

This earns an appreciative snigger from Lance, an amused look on Shiro, and a facepalm from Hunk and Keith.

"I downloaded more shit on your Spotify premium." They say, flashing the device in front of Lance. "You keep complaining about my music and I'm not having anymore of that nonsense, so here you go."

"Pidge," Hunk says, his eyes closed and hands placed together. "downloading songs needs an internet connection. How did you-"

"We came across a planet with similar wavelengths to Earth internet." they shrug. "It just kinda clicked."

"This doesn't make sense." Hunk concludes.

"Hey, we're pilots of huge mechanic lions, fighting off aliens so the known universe has a chance of survival. NOTHING makes sense anymore." Pidge reasons.

Hunk pretends to dwell on their comment, but they know the answer anyway. Nothing makes sense anymore.

* * *

* **turckling** : turtle + duck; since Altea has words and animals that do not exist on Earth, I decided to combine animals (like how Atla and LoK does)


	3. Chillin' in the hot tub

**A/N : Thank you all so much to reading/faving/following and reviewing! Don't want to sound like a cheesy old white lady but your responses are breathtaking bro. (sorry I had to, this chapter contains mentions of memes, by the way)**

To:

rainbowrider1290 : same, I hope they can expand more on the Garrison Trio's relationship as well! I just really want Hunk and Lance to have more screen time! Thank you for reviewing!

 **The Best Guesst:** I know just using the wavelengths isn't a very realistic excuse, I tried to apply real life reasoning, but I came up with nothing (I'm just not creative enough?) I guess the planet has the same frequencies or something? I don't really know how it makes sense, but then again, a lot of things in space don't. This is the best logic I can come up with (unfortunatley). Thank you for reviewing though! Glad you enjoyed it, means a lot to me!

#3: Chilling in the hot tub

Summary: Lance tries to convince Hunk to go revisit the that damned Altean swimming pool, but Hunk's too tired for that. Thankfully (or not so thankfully, for Lance) Keith had the same idea, so Lance and Keith head to the pool together. Pidge finds out and will not let something like this be overlooked.

(Featuring Pidge in vents and Allura being a mom. Slight Klance.)

* * *

"Lance, I've lost interest since from your last description of the castle pool." Hunk says, holding the yellow swim trunks Lance had flung at him. Who knew the previous Paladins designed different products with their colour scheme in mind?

"You heard the princess! She said that we are to relax for a bit. We just returned from an intense battle, what other way is there to relax than to swim your worries away?" Lance says, throwing his hands up in the air. "C'mon, Hunk! We haven't went swimming since forever!"

Hunk opens his mouth to retort, "no, Garrison training on CPR doesn't count." Lance quickly says, Hunk's lips fall shut again. "Hunk, it's gonna be fun! Okay? Keith won't be there." Lance reassures.

"You're the one who was a problem with-"

"Right? Okay lets go!"

The doors slide open, and Lance's eyes automatically land on an equally shirtless Keith. Lance groans audibly.

"Great, what did I do now?" Keith says, glaring at Lance.

"Oh well, I guess you've got a buddy to go swimming with, you don't need me anymore." Hunk says in a hurry,before pushing Lance out of his room and closing the door. Hunk sighs in relief. It's not that he doesn't want to hang with his best friend, it's the fact that the Altean pool is on the ceiling. There's no way he's gonna make that much of an effort just to go _swimming_. He's not that desperate (yet). Plus, he's been losing sleep anyway. From getting up early for training, to being rudely awakened by the Galra empire (an unforgivable crime in Hunk's eyes) he just wants to sleep for a day.

Lance tries knocking on Hunk's door, and telling him that he's gonna tear the door down. (A thump is heard after that, by the way) He's even desperate enough to say 'I'm going to tell Shiro!'

Keith only raises his eyebrows and tells Lance to leave Hunk alone. Hunk's usual charming energy was at a new low, he needed some sleep. Lance however, just didn't want to be left alone with Keith. He understood why Hunk wanted to sleep, but he's _too damn bi_ and sleep deprived to be around a shirtless Keith. Not that he'll admit it out loud, but he's sure Hunk knew.

Hunk is more than aware of Lance's...problem with Keith. He opposed it at first, but Pidge made a lot of sense. Either that or he was too tired to comprehend what they said. It goes along the lines of 'leave them alone to solve their problems out. The more alone time they get, the better.'

Lance sighs defeatedly and heads to the elevators with Keith. Ugh, who even named their child _Keith?_ Of all the names they could've chosen from, they chose Keith. Lance huffs again. His body slouches as he drags his feet behind Keith. Ugh, even the way Keith walks annoys the hell out of him. Only Keith would talk like that, like he owns the place - he doesn't this castle belongs to Allura's.

Keith notices Lance's uneasiness - it wasn't hard to miss. "Just like last time. You stay on your end, and I'll stay in mine." he says as the elevator doors start to close, "and we'll be far far away from each other. Okay?"

Lance groans in response. (But nods anyway)

—

Pidge may or may not be lost in the vents (hey, its a pretty big castle, okay?) but they suppose following the sound of Hunk's snores would be a good indication of where they were. Shiro is going to give them hell for this, but what the heck!

"…we'll be far far away from each other. Okay?"

Pidge's ears perk up. They quickly scramble to the vent in which Keith has broken trying to escape the elevator (or something. Pidge wasn't really paying attention) A few scrapes on the knees are nothing because they see the elevator move upwards, and stop at the floor of the pool. A devilish smirk finds it's way onto their face.

They move back to Hunk's room - at least they think it is - and kick the vent open. This wakes up Hunk, who sits up and splutters incoherent words before his eyes focus on the green figure on his room floor.

"Dude, could you not? I'm a light sleeper, you know that."

"Keith and Lance are chillin' in the hot tub…five feet apart 'cause they're not gay!" They sing.

"Oh no. Not this again." Hunk groans, they laugh manically. Hunk thinks whether befriending _both_ Lance and Pidge was a good idea. As if he hasn't heard enough vines from the trio's days at the Garrison, must they continue their unhealthy meme and vine habits here? Pidge keeps repeating the tune until they're out of breath.

"Remind me again, why on Earth am I friends with you and Lance?"

"Oh please," they say, "you'd be lost without us." the same smirk returns to their face.

"No, I know that look." Hunk says, "I _know_ that look!" his voice gives away how frightened he is. "What are you planning?" he stage-whispers.

—-

"Keithy-boy, how do you not know memes." Lance says. Keith is just about done with this conversation. He's just trying to figure out how they're supposed to swim in something that's midair.

"Check if the gravity is on all right." Keith says.

"Keith, you have problems!" Lance says as he strides towards Keith, Lance finds the red paladin squinting his eyes menacingly at the pool. "Yep, definitely have problems."

"How do we get up there…"

"So you've never known kermit the frog?" Lance says, Keith rolls his eyes and ignores him. "Here comes dat boi? The bee movie? How about the classic squid ward dab? Or-"

"Enough!" Keith snaps, but that look on Lance's face makes him regret he raised his voice in the beginning. His eyes soften as Lance visibly shrinks, his back is more hunched and his eyes focus on the floor. Keith mentally smacks himself in the head, what was he thinking? "Look, Lance…I'm sorry-"

"No, it's okay." Lance cuts him off, but Keith hears that hesitation in Lance's usually deafening voice, "I'm loud, obnoxious, I get carried away all the time. It's fine, really! Let's try to get into the pool, yeah?"

The pair work in silence, and try to find a way up. Lance knows he's being pathetic, Keith snaps at him all the time, he's his rival, so it's not abnormal for them to argue…What Lance doesn't understand is why he can't fight back. He feels helpless and he absolutely hates it. He came out here for a good time, and now he just feels attacked and he wants to go home. Home, where there's always some sort of noise from his siblings. Home, where he and Pidge can share all the memes they want with each other at the Garrison. Home, where the smell of the sea always lingers in the air, and the waves crashing into the shore calls his name. He can almost remember what it feels like to touch the seawater on Earth, how the wind blows in his face and hair when he attempts to surf with his elder brother.

Keith realises how big a mistake he has made. He curses at himself for being such a prick. Lance's silence is unnerving. He _has_ to make it up to Lance, they _have_ to get up to the pool.

—

"Allura, Princess, I need your help." The princess turns from her mice to face a pleading Hunk.

"I'm sure I can solve whatever's troubling you," she says, the mice agree and squeak in unison, "although if it's unlocking the doors of the training deck, that's a no from me."

Hunk's brows furrow, "why is it locked?"

"To keep Keith out, that boy's going to physically overwork himself if he keeps on training the way he does."

"Oh." Is the only reply she gets. She supposes it wasn't that much of a mystery why the training deck is locked, given that she _clearly_ instructed the Paladins to get some rest. Hunk shakes his head, and returns to the matter at hand. "Anyway Princess, I've lost Pidge in the vents-"

"Again?"

"and they're on a rampage. They're on some sort of high, and no, I did not feed Pidge anything. They somehow found out that Keith and Lance are going to the pool so they just-"

"TWO BROS CHILLIN' IN A HOT TUB, FIVE FEET APART 'CAUSE THEY'RE NOT GAY" echoes around the room. Allura raises an eyebrow as Hunk just sighs defeatedly. The doors slide open to reveal Shiro and Coran, both equally confused as Allura. A spine-chilling laugh is followed, and everyone just shivers.

"Please don't tell me Pidge is in the vents again." Shiro deadpans.

"What is all this fuss about?" Coran asks, and Hunk leans his head on Allura's shoulder for support. He cannot take this level of stress, he's just got back from defeating aliens and now Pidge is high on unknown substances. They say it's because their gaydar is off the charts, but could they do this _later?_

"Pidge is out of control, someone call animal control." Hunk whines.

"I FUCKING KNEW IT!" they say, Shiro glares at the nearest vent and warns them about language. "I QUIZNACKING KNEW IT" Coran gasps and Shiro just sighs.

"They're heading for the pool." Hunk informs Shiro, "Possibly to repeat that sentence, sung in that melody until Keith and Lance either lose their minds, kill each other, or… _other_ things."

—

Keith and Lance found a way up, but it happened too fast so none of them really registered what had happened. They're just glad they got to _swim,_ even though…they have to swim downwards just to catch a breath of air _._ As soon as Lance's body touched the water, his face lights up, and the same glimmer that's present in his eyes returns. Keith sighs in relief.

Lance catches Keith just _staring_ at him, to be fair, both of them were upside down to the rest of the world, maybe Keith's never seen Lance's hair fly up (or was it pulled down by gravity?) like that. So he does what anyone with common sense would do.

A splash jolts Keith and he glares playfully at the blue paladin. Lance lets out the laugh that Keith didn't know he missed before scooping the water and hitting Lance square in the face. Lance stops laughing, and his eyes squint competitively.

"Oh, it's on."

Keith smirks and the boys are at it again. Keith doesn't even care how childish he must look at the moment, and Lance ignores the fact that Keith is his rival as the boys just…act like boys without the weight of the universe on their shoulders. Lance has swallowed an unhealthy amount of Altean pool water, but screw it, he's been eating green goo for some time and he's not dying or anything. Keith's face stings from the force of Lance's splashes (who knew noodle-arms had strong splashing game?) and lets himself unwind, his usual uptight posture is replaced by relaxed shoulders and lazy smiles. Lance realises that Keith can actually smile like a normal human being, and is somewhat proud that he made Keith show some form of human emotion.

The splashing becomes more aggressive, and it's more like wrestling underwater now. Lance is clearly winning in holding his breath, because Keith is using _way_ too much force. His muscles aren't going to have enough energy, and right on cue, Keith swims down to take a breath. Lance see's his chance and pulls on Keith's leg, forcing his head to go underwater again.

This causes Keith to swing Lance's unnaturally light body to the surface of the water, so half of his body is just hanging out of the water that's designed to stay afloat. Lance's arms frail and he struggles to maintain his balance. Keith laughs and mercifully pulls him back in the water.

Pidge arrives to the pool just in time to see the pair holding hands (well, wrists, but what's the difference.) They smile and get all giddy and then the doors slide open. They yell "TWO BROS, CHILLIN' IN THE HOT TUB, FIVE FEET APART 'CAUSE THEY'RE NOT GAY." before Shiro can tell Pidge to calm down.

This causes the two paladins to swim in opposite directions, leaving as much space apart from each other as possible. Lance hisses at Keith, and Keith just rolls his eyes. Lance see's Shiro containing his smile, and an overly exhausted Hunk. Poor dude. Allura and Coran smile a little, proud that the paladins are bonding.

Lance diffuses the sort of silence (please excuse the noise Pidge is making, Lance thinks they're laughing but he's not too sure because he thinks they're having trouble breathing right now) with an unsure "Ohhhh, here come dat boi, Shiro."

Hunk and Keith collectively groan as Allura shakes her head. "All right, that's enough splashing for the both of you." She says as she lowers the water down. Keith and Lance duck their heads back into the water and Lance crosses his arms, trying to look grumpy as Keith pouts. "When I say rest, I mean sleep, using up all your energy like this can't be good for your fragile human bodies." Allura's eyes widen as she realises what slipped out of her mouth. Shiro raises an eyebrow at her. "Well, obviously, um, Alteans are more…built than humans, so, Keith! Lance! Come out of the water and wash up before dinner!" Keith continues to pout has he exits the pool of floating water. Lance is still underwater, but he see's Keith move, so he can only roll his eyes and get out the pool as well. The sound of Pidge hyperventilating causes Allura to glance at the vent on the wall. "Shiro, would you mind getting Pidge?"

Shiro complies and calls Pidge down. Lance nudges Keith, declaring that he won the fight. Keith shrugs it off, with a short "whatever", though that smile on his face tells Lance that Keith had fun, which is great, because Lance finally felt like he had fun too.


	4. Inexperienced Father

**#4 : Inexperienced father**

 **Summary: Shiro experiences fatherhood before getting married or having children of his own. He denies this at first, but realises that facts will always be facts. And fathers will always be fathers.**

 **This one's a little shorter than the previous chapter (sorry about that). I'm super busy with exams but I really wanted to update _something._ Here's Shiro the Space Dad™**

 **TO The Best Guesst: Thank you for reviewing once again! After I discovered that vine I really could not help but sing it when I rewatched that ep. And yes, you are correct (once again) - reality and fiction are separate for a reason.**

 **Disclaimer - I do not own Voltron : Legendary Defender**

* * *

Shiro knew that when he woke up surrounded by _children_ in Keith shack in the middle of nowhere, that he had practically signed up to be a dad. He knows that Keith has self control issues, given that Shiro is 90% of Keith's sanity. He's heard of the weird, yet astonishing things Katie Holt has done in her past (and she's only fourteen). He doesn't know Lance and Hunk, but given how they interact, he knows that they balance each other out, and are essentially each other's support system.

They're all old enough to take care of themselves (including Pidge), so why is it that he feels like he's babysitting?

It's not that he keeps count (he does) but he couldn't help but feel that he was mothering or, well, fathering these kids. Sure, Allura shared some of the responsibility as she practically scolded Lance and Keith when they had a fist fight the other day, but this unfamiliar feeling couldn't leave him alone.

The first time he realises this is when Pidge asks him if he could overlook their designs for Green. He agreed.

Although at first he didn't really know what to say, everything was precisely calculated with little to no error. He gave a couple of suggestions, how to decrease the amount of work needed (considering there's only 7 people on the castle), which materials would be more ideal and how to make the process faster. Pidge had already thought of most of that and are working on drafting the schematics of everything already. He smiled at them proudly and ruffled their hair.

It then dawned upon him that all this felt unfamiliar despite doing similar things with Keith. He's helped Keith with building his bike, checking up on him at the Garrisons, making sure he's doing well academically and such. But this? This felt like checking his kid's homework.

He's not married, doesn't have a girlfriend. He doesn't know what fatherhood feels like, and yet, this feels _exactly_ how his father used to do to him.

Only two words pop into his mind : _oh no._

Days later, Coran informs them that they need to make a quick stop to a nearby planet for more food. Hunk is delighted that the team is finally able to sample other types of alien delicacy. Lance agrees to go shopping for food with Hunk and Coran. Keith and Pidge drag Shiro to check out the technology on the planet. Allura remains on the castle, incase of attacks. Shiro felt a little guilty for leaving her alone, but she assures him that she'll be fine - she has the mice for company.

"After all." she said, " Having Keith and Pidge together, along with the presence of new technology wouldn't lead to anything good."

She was right. Keith and Pidge had their eyes on separate pieces of alien tech. Keith mainly had eyes on this weapon resembling their bayard, except that it could change into any other weapon you desired once you linked up the system with your mind. Pidge was on the other end of the section of the market Coran made them swear 'never to leave unless an attack happen' They had their eyes ogling at the various AI machines. One even looked like R2-D2 from Star Wars and Pidge practically dragged Shiro to the store, and begged him to purchase it.

Their excuse? "So Allura wouldn't feel alone in the castle. Or maybe it could help us on missions? I could add a few lasers or cameras incase we need to go undercover or we could-"

"No, Pidge. Coran strictly said that we couldn't buy anything." Shiro says firmly. He could _feel_ Keith pout behind them. "That goes for weapons too, Keith."

"But Shiro, think about it, what if we needed a sniper?"

"Shiro, we could buy paint and make it a replica of R2!"

"Or what if we ever needed some like…tracking device kind of thing?"

"It'd be totally awesome if we could have our own R2 around!"

"I'm sure Pidge can add a few tweaks and allow that to become a reality-"

"Shiro, don't deny yourself _happiness."_

His eye twitches.

"It'll be perfect for long distance stuff! Lance's bayard only has a short distance firing gun anyway."

"Sure, I suppose I could build it from scrap-"

"Maybe it'll be useful for all of us?"

"But it's more work that way and I still need to fix up the upgrades I installed on Green, and-"

"If we can all use it, the money won't go to waste and-"

"Enough!" He says, he can feel himself ageing at the speed of sound. "No, we cannot buy the R2 replica-"

"Well it's not yet-"

Shiro shoots them a look. They meekly tilt their head down, lips forming a small pout. He sighs and turns to Keith, "And no, Keith, we don't even know where that device was manufactured. What if it's Galra tech? What if it's vulnerable to their tracking devices? We can't risk it, Keith." Keith returns to pouting. "Plus, who's to say our bayards can't do that?" He added.

Just as the pair open their mouths to retaliate, the sound of Coran's voice is heard. Relief washes over Shiro as Coran drags 'number 4 and number 5' away from the stalls. Shiro apologises to the sales clerk and leaves with the rest of the group. He puts his arms around Keith and Pidge's shoulders to ensure that they won't get distracted, run away or anything else.

Unknown to Shiro, the sales clerk only chuckles and shakes his head. "Inexperienced fathers." he says.

* * *

Shiro was peacefully going to get some more water when he slips on a something soft. A pillow. He raises his eyebrow and hears a muffled scream coming from the common room. The scream if followed by Hunk's victorious laugh and Shiro immediantly takes interest to find out whats going on. He clutches the pillow with his left arm, gets a drink, and then rushes to the common room where he finds the paladins in their sleepwear. Keith and Lance are flinging their pillows at each other while Pidge and Hunk attack Lance from the top and bottom. Lance struggles to free himself from Hunk's clutches as Pidge slams the pillow to the backside of Keith's knees, allowing him to fall atop of Lance and Hunk.

They smile in triumph before Hunk tosses a blanket over Pidge's small figure, Lance tackles them down as Keith comes to their rescue. He grabs a nearby pillow and swings it so it hit's Lance square in the face. Lance roars and swings a nearby cushion at Keith.

The red paladin ducks.

Shiro's eyes widen before the force of the cushion overwhelms his legs and he topples over. Collective gasps were heard in the room as Shiro sits up. He smirks and a soft "oh shit" is heard.

Shiro charges at the group, hurling pillows at the paladins. All paladins were hit in the face, and Shiro lets out a laugh. Keith takes that as a chance to knock him down, he tackles Shiro onto the ground and Pidge gets their revenge by swatting Shiro's face with a cushion. Hunk sends a pillow flying at Pidge, and they fall back on their back. Lance swears to avenger Pidge and takes off to attack Hunk. Shiro grabs his leg with his left hand and Lance just falls onto Keith.

"Dick move, Shiro." complains the red paladin, groaning at the pain and possible bruises forming the next morning. Pidge is revived and they charge to Hunk, they use the sofa as to their advantage and jumps of it. Their body knocks Hunk down, and they let out a murderous laugh.

This goes on for some time before they're all tired out.

Shiro sits up and glances at the mess they've made - pillows, cushions and blankets everywhere - and then proceeds to look at the Paladins snuggled up together. He sighs before declaring "We need an adult."

Keith, who's half asleep on Shiro's leg mutters "you're almost twenty-one, Takashi."

Shiro's eyes widen. "Oh my god, I'm the adult." he whispers, Keith hums. Shiro glares at Keith before Lance's arm hits Keith in the face. He snorts as Keith groans.

"Not funny, Shiro."

Shiro would've liked to sleep peacefully, but his mind focuses on the one thing he kept denying - he's the adult of the group.

He's practically their father now.

* * *

A few days later an unscheduled food fight is held in the dining room. Allura is covered with green-goo as she races to Shiro's quarters. She opens the door and startles Shiro, who's on his 507th push-up.

"Control the children." She says, eyes pleading, out of breath and her hair a tangled mess. He wonders where Coran is, and then it hits him.

Children.

He lets out an exhausted sigh, dries his sweat with a towel, and assures the princess that he's got it under control. Allura blushes and excuses herself for a change of clothes and a shower as he strides towards the dining room. Coran has yet to arrive, or perhaps too afraid to try to stop the fighting.

He sighs again, enters the dining room, scoops Pidge up with one hand and tugs Lance's collar with the other and drags them to their room. Hunk and Keith stare at the now empty doorway for a moment, before Keith flings more goo at Hunk. Shiro returns to splash Keith with water, causing him to hiss at Shiro as he shoves Hunk out the door. He tosses Keith a towel and tells him to go shower.

Coran makes an appearance and thanks him before retrieving the cleaning supplies and getting to work. Shiro apologises and promises that he'll talk to them about discipline and listening to Allura. Coran only shrugs, "they _are_ children, Shiro."

Shiro doesn't miss the hidden meaning in his words.

 _They're_ your _children, Shiro._


	5. It's not a phase! It's who I am!

#5: It's not a phase! It's who I am!

In which Pidge and Shiro joke about Keith being an Emo™. When Lance and Hunk join, more laughter echoes around the ship. Soon, Lance is losing control and Hunk is there as Lance's filter because he doesn't have a mental one.

TO The Best Guesst: You are absolutely right. Those are wise words to live by.

TO Guest: Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron - Legendary Defender**

* * *

"Say, Shiro."

The eldest hums in response.

"Has Keith always had that mullet?" Pidge asks, tilting their heads slightly to the left. Shiro turns to face his teammate, only to be reminded on Matt Holt, who does the same thing as Pidge when he asks a question. He mentally slaps himself to focus on Pidge's question.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Keith. Has he always had that mullet of his?" they ask again, "I've never known him, and Lance claims to have been his rival and all…but you know him best out of all of us. So…has he always had that hair?"

Shiro raises an eyebrow and laughs. "What motivated such a question?"

Pidge shrugs. "I was just wondering, I mean, Keith doesn't smile that much, wears fingerless gloves, has that emo hairstyle, and the only thing colourful on him is his crop-jacket. I just, I don't know, is he an emo or something?"

Shiro's eyes widen. He mentally apologises to Keith because _oh my god somebody finally understands his situation._ He laughs, scaring Pidge in the process. His laughter echoes around the empty halls, causing the mice to jump. After he's finished (well, one can never really be finished laughing at this) he takes three deep breathes before giggling. Pidge stares at him with widened eyes, afraid to move a muscle.

"Uhh…Shiro?"

"FINALLY!" He exclaims. Pidge topples onto the ground at this point, "SOMEBODY GETS IT!"

Pidge is even more confused now, their hair sticking at odd angles, almost as if they represent Pidge's inner thoughts because honestly, _what the hell is happening._ Shiro notices their sudden uneasiness and apologises quickly while joining them on the floor, but his smile is still wide and childlike.

"I've been telling Keith for _years_ about the way he presents himself." the Black Paladin starts, "Because, although it's not good to judge people by their looks, a lot of people still do. When we were back at the Garrison, people were afraid to talk to Keith since he glared at everything that moved-"

"He still does that" Pidge interjects.

"So naturally, people stayed away from him. I know there were a few girls that liked him a lot though, saying how he was _dark_ and _mysterious._ " Shiro says, Pidge's face was splattered with confusion and disgust.

"Gross" they say.

"It was nothing but a harmless crush though." Shiro reassures, "I think." his eyebrows furrow. "I hope. Or else I might need a stern talk with him."

Pidge's eyes widen even more."Can we get back to topic here?"

"Right. Anyway, he said that he doesn't care much for his appearance, but it's not going to make a good impression on the commanders or professors. Plus, he ties his hair up at times anyway, I don't understand why he can't just cut it off." Shiro wonders. Pidge nods. They've seen Keith's hair in a tiny ponytail before, especially when he trains. They didn't think much of it until now though. "Oh yeah," Shiro continues, "and he says that the gloves are for his bike, but he cut the holes himself."

"Why?"

Shiro shrugs, "maybe it looks cooler that way?"

"HA." Pidge hollers, "What a nerd."

"I don't know. Keith just does what he wants, and quite frankly, no one can stop him." Shiro sighs, "I told him about how he looks emo and all and he just shrugged. He doesn't really care anyway."

"Okay, but the fingerless gloves though. He cut them himself. _Why couldn't he just buy some?"_ Pidge says, trying their best to maintain their calm state, and laugh _after_ they've finished the conversation.

"Beats me," Shiro sighs as he shakes his head.

Pidge then sits up properly and clears their throat, "I'm Keith, and I'm an emo. I like to scowl and I hate fun, also my fingerless gloves are so cool since I cut them myself." They say, mimicking Keith's huskier voice.

Shiro bursts out laughing, "OH, OH! Don't forget!" He clears his throat and pretends to toss his hair, "Don't dare touch my mullet, it took me years to grow out this perfect emo hair. Look at how dark and mysterious it is."

"It helps me blend into the darkness, like my cold dead soul." Pidge adds.

The two continue on their analysis of Keith Kogane just as Lance and Hunk walk by, witnessing Shiro and Pidge just…doing whatever _that_ is _._ Then the pair sprawls onto the floor laughing. Pidge is clutching their stomach and Shiro covers his eyes with his arm. The volume of their laughter seemingly shook the entire Castle.

"What the hell is going on here?" Lance asks entering the room, "You guys having fun without us? Scandalous!"

"The only scandalous thing here is how you are my rival!" Pidge squeaks, in attempt to mimic Keith's voice again, but they fail as they continue laughing.

"Okay what is happening here?" Hunk asks, slightly mortified by the scene unfolding upon him.

Shiro sits up and releases one last laugh. "We're talking about Keith and his emo tendencies." Lance's ears visibly perk up, his blue eyes sparkling with interest. The Blue Paladin takes a seat on the floor, right next to Pidge, and sets his elbows on the floor to prop his head up.

"Do continue." He says.

Hunk sighs and joins the group on the floor. _These weirdos,_ he thinks, _there are three perfectly good chairs just right there why can't they just_ use _them?_

"I train all day because everyone else is not worth my time! Also, look how glorious my hair is? It's marvellous shade of raven reflects my inner heart." Pidge continues. Shiro is wheezing as Hunk and Lance stare at Pidge, smiles forming on their faces. "I would like to have piercings or ear gauges or something to show just how hardcore I am."

Shiro loses it, "He-" he chokes, "He did mention something-heh-about piercings." The group was silent for about three seconds. The only noise in that room was Shiro's deep breathing. Three seconds ticked by and they all let out the most deafening laughs the castle has ever heard.

"It's not a phase, _Shiro,_ it's who I am!" Lance shouts in between his laughter, which then send them on another fit. "You don't understand me, so stop trying!" He adds. Another wave of laughter. "This is me! If you can't accept it, you can su-"

"oKAY LANCE!" Hunk declares, "That's enough for today."

"No, no, guys, okay." Shiro says, evening his breathing, "He has said that he wasn't in any phases or anything, so let's not put any more stereotypical labels on him. It's bad enough that we're here discussing this matter."

"But Shiro!" Lance whines. Hunk audibly groans. "We still have not discussed whether he had one of those emo belts!" He says.

Shiro glances at Hunk, confusion in his eyes. Hunk shrugs, "I think he means the ones with the studs." Shiro's mouth forms an 'O', and returns to his normal state of deep thought and maturity. It was short lived though, since the leader of the paladins started giggling again.

"I think," he starts, "I think he owned one that was black, but had red studs on them." Hunk facepalms at the statement. Lance and Pidge are rolling on the floor. "I'm not-" Shiro starts laughing again, "I'm not sure _when_ he had it or how long he's had it for, but I assure you, I have seen him wearing one."

"How is this guy even my rival?" Lance exclaims facing the floor, he lets his face make contact with the cold surface and wraps his hands around his head. "His fashion sense is shit!"

"Lance! That's insensitive!" Hunk scolds through his laughter, Lance sticks out his tongue childishly at his best friend before flopping himself onto Hunk's lap.

"I bet he has all the emo albums." Lance says, making himself comfortable on Hunk. The light in Hunk's eyes die down, once Lance stays on him he doesn't leave. Not that he minds that much though, he's used to it now. "I bet it's stashed in that shack of his."

"Well, where else would it be, Tailor?" Pidge deadpans.

"I bet he has a skull accessory somewhere…but he doesn't seem to carry that many things maybe it's down his pa-"

Hunk slams him hand on Lance's mouth immediantly, as if expecting the words that come out of it beforehand.

"No, Lance!" Hunk and Shiro sigh at the same time.

"Why don't you go find out?" Pidge suggests, wriggling their eyebrows.

"Don't encourage him, Pidge." Hunk sighs again, rubbing his temples. "You know that thing in your head that stops you from doing or saying things?"

"Common sense?" Pidge offers.

"A mental filter?" Lance says, his voice muffled by Hunk's large palm.

Hunk only hums in agreement with Lance, and then takes a deep breath before he tries to say calmly to his beloved best friend : "YOU DON'T HAVE ONE."

Lance only smiles, "I have you for a reason don't I? Now! Let us return to making fun of Mullet-Head."

"Oh so that's what you've been up to." Says a cold voice. All four pairs of eyes glue onto the figure leaning against the door, a dull expression is present on his face as he fiddles his bayard. His stance is threatening, and his eyes scream _danger._

While the Garrison Trio huddle together in terror, Shiro smiles and tells Keith to take a seat next to him on the floor. Keith raises and eyebrow, but agrees reluctantly. There's no use disobeying Shiro anyway. Keith walks towards the group, his boots click the floor and it echoes around the now silent room. He sits, glaring daggers at his friends, it happened too fast for anyone to realise but Shiro is hugging Keith with all his might.

"I know it's not a phase. I know it's who you are." Shiro says. Keith stiffens and scrunches his nose, he mouths _help me_ to the rest. Pidge smirks and latches themselves onto Keith. "I know you don't hate fun." they say, "You're pretty fun." Keith pouts and squirms, but it's useless since Shiro is pinning his arms down and Pidge is wrapped around his torso. Hunk catches on, and hugs Keith from behind, "No matter how you are, we'll always love you." Keith grumbles and Lance then attacks Keith with a hug from the side, "Yeah, we don't care if you're emo. You're not so bad."

And then Keith gets it. His shoulders relax and his face is expressionless, emotionless, lifeless. His eyes, however, burn with frustration, an audible growl is heard before he exclaims a final statement that shuts up the Paladins for good.

"I'M NOT A FUCKING EMO."


	6. Take me back to a simpler time

**#6: take me back to a simpler time**

Summary: **(Angst alert)** Keith watched helplessly at Shiro's unmoving body. The team arrive and Shiro is placed in a healing pod. Keith remembers a time where feeling helpless could be resolved. Pidge see's all the emotions from Keith's saddened eyes and is immediately reminded of her family. Hunk realises just how much he misses his family, and suddenly all the bottled emotions come out. He just wants to go home. And Lance? He misses the sense of belonging, and dreams about being back in his family's arms.

(Fem pronouns for Pidge)

To:

rainbowrider1290: Thank you so much!

PipeDreamPrayer : Thank you! I wasn't too sure about the family fluff in there, but judging by your response, I'm glad you liked it!

The Best Guesst: HAHAH YES. We're always seeing such a serious Keith and Shiro, I just want some scenes where they're simply making fun of each other (or just Keith). Shiro's age is unknown, but since his birthday is on the 29th of Feb, I'm 110% sure he is six. (Kidding, he's probably twenty). AND thank you for another review!

 **Disclaimer - I do not own Voltron : Legendary Defender**

* * *

"It's not a big deal, Keith" Shiro coughs out, "we all get hurt from time to time."

"Shiro, you're going to bleed out at this rate, it's a big deal." Keith says as he and Hunk drag Shiro back towards the Red Lion. Hunk spots a few more Galra robotic sentries and activates his bayard sending the sentries flying backwards. Keith is trying not to panic, but his mind jumps to the worst case scenario - what if Shiro fucking bleeds out?

They make it back to the castle ship and Shiro has an arm around Hunk as Keith holds onto his back to keep him balanced. Coran activates a healing pod and the paladins place him inside. Shiro gives his teammates a reassuring smile before closing his eyes and letting the pod heal him tissue to tissue.

Shiro's blood is still on Keith's hands and his mind flashes to when he ended up in a gang fight, one against six. It wasn't a fair fight, but he had them on the ropes. He remembers how swiftly he can knock them down, he's got a few minor scars as souvenirs, but it wasn't anything life threatening. He remembers Shiro finding him in the alley and throwing a few punches before pulling out his water bottle from his black backpack and washing the blood off Keith's hands. He remembers Shiro scolding him lightly, saying that the Garrison won't tolerate this behaviour, and he remembers him giving him a noogie, and smacking the back of his head lightly.

He remembers a time where their lives weren't constantly threatened. A simpler time.

Pidge see's Keith's eyes water slightly, but not enough for the tears to roll off his face. She knows that look. She's seen it on her mother, who is currently alone without anyone but Gunther with her. She makes herself look somewhere else, anywhere else to distract herself, but her mind keeps pressing on the matter. Her mother probably thinks that she's _dead._ Her mother had to go through all that pain of losing family as well as having Katie Holt break into the Garrison and cause trouble and- _oh god-_ she owes her so much.

Her mother, who despite all that she's lost, willingly sent her only daughter to Galaxy Garrison under the name Pidge Gunderson. The same centre that sent her missing brother and father into space. Pidge takes off her glasses, and wipes her tears with the back of her hand swiftly, so no one would see.

She can imagine everything. The first week after her disappearance, she knows her mom will worry. The second week is denial. The third is accepting that Katie, Matt and Samuel Holt are all dead. The fourth week will be devastation, and by then her mother's eyes are dry, throat raspy and emotionless. The fifth week she doesn't even want to _think_ about.

Another tear finds it's way down her cheek.

"I'm going to go upgrade Green." She says. Her tears don't go unnoticed, Lance hears the strain in her voice and her slightly damp sleeve. Lance's mind flashes back to his baby hermana, crying her heart out due to her asshole of a crush on that one rainy day. It's been a while since damp sleeves and wet socks. It's been a while since his elder hermana has splashed him with the hose. He remembers somewhere wonderful, chaotic and welcoming all at the same time.

Home. The word sounds so distant now. That's never happened before. His heart clenches at the thought, and he feels…he feels…Like the hollow howls of the wind in the winter. Like a lonely moon in a starless sky. Like that one abandoned boat, wrecked at sea that was on the news that other time.

He realises how much he misses his parents…his siblings…oh no, he missed his baby neice Benita's fifth birthday! What kind of tío is he? To miss such an occasion. He misses the sound of waves crashing, the whiffs of his madre's homemade food and the bruises that form due to sibling rivalry. He misses the bone-crushing hugs from his abuelo, and the wet kisses on his cheek from abuela. Suddenly those things don't seem so bad anymore.

He glances at Keith, who's shoulders shake a little as he takes in deep breaths. His eyes drift towards Shiro, who's face is scrunched up in pain, hands twitching and jaw clenched. Shiro…he's been Lance's hero for so long, it seems like a far away dream to see him in action. He would have cherished every moment of that dream, but now it's a nightmare. Lance's hero has taken hits for the team countless times and spills his blood just to keep them safe and he hates it. Shiro who always made him feel wanted, who made sure he was looked after, who said he was proud of him. Now, he's confined in a glass case, and it's all his fault because he wasn't watching his back. A small part of him tells him to just _shut up,_ but Lance just remembers his older hermana, pushing up her glasses up her nose proudly as she just won the spelling bee, and then he remembers his hermano wrapping everyone in his arms and squishing them into a tight hug. He remembers the time when his baby hermana was only five and decided to bite their papá's arm.

He remembers his baby sister almost graduating from high school. What if he misses graduation? _What if he's already missed it?_ No, no, not possible, he's only been gone for…how long has he been gone? His heart aches and clenches a little. How long has he last seen his family? His mamá and abuela must be worried sick. He's not sure what his abuelo would do, but what he _does_ know is that abuelo takes his frustrations out through boxing. He hopes he doesn't hurt himself. And papá? Lance swallowed. He can already imagine the sadness in his papá's face.

Why couldn't he just go back home, and tell everyone he was fine, then come back? Why couldn't this be more simple? On Earth they were only a phone call away, but up here? In space? In the middle of nothing but darkness, dead planets and an evil empire? He couldn't do anything.

He feels something on his shoulder, and he see's Hunk giving him a warm smile. Despite his bubbly character, he knows Hunk's hurting too.

Hunk has been watching. First Keith, then Pidge then Lance. It's a chain reaction. Their minds are practically linked up after being a team for a while. His mother has delicate fingers, she'd be able to help patch Shiro up in no time. He shakes his head and sighs, he tries to ignore it at first, tries to stay away from discussing or even thinking about home, but the overwhelming aching sensation causes his mind to sink into despair.

He sees his living room. He see's his parents being all cuddly and cute and he remembers gagging to make fun of them. His mother only sticks out her tongue at him and his father sighs and shakes his head. The smell of fresh, cleansed air lifts his spirits up, and the sound of his father's favourite album is playing in the background. He knows that his parents are probably dancing to the beat of the music like the perfect couple they are. He tries to smile but his lips aren't moving upwards. He opens his eyes and sees the castle ship.

 _Oh. Right._

He's far away from the warmth of home. From his family.

He reminds himself not to think of his parent's crying over the news of missing cadets. He doesn't want to imagine Lance's family and his own family gathering to talk things out. He doesn't want to think of his father crying and his mother screaming that it's her fault.

His parents are passionate people, and passion leads people to do unexpected things. The last thing he needs is his parents worrying about him, because he's fine! He's perfectly fine! It's Shiro that's been torn apart and scarred for life. It's Shiro that has lost possibly everything, but still able to withstand the pressures of being the head of Voltron. It's Shiro that has stayed the strongest even at the darkest times. Hunk thanks him for being a pillar for them to lean on, and he hopes that Shiro knows that the paladins will be there for him whenever he needed him.

These thoughts weren't enough to distract him as his mind flashes back to his family, his very now broken family. He knows his mother is always overly dramatic in the best ways, but what if something bad happens and he's not there? What if his father loses focus during work and gets fired? What if his mother, with a devastated mind, burns the welcoming foods she makes? What if his father didn't get home safe and Hunk wasn't there to help? Endless possibilities play in his head and before he knows it, he's a mess.

Keith finally looks away from Shiro, and stares at Hunk and Lance, and by the door is Pidge, who collapsed onto the floor, weeping. She didn't even make it to the hanger. He glances at Allura, who is tearing up as well, who is watching the paladins in agony, wishing she could make it better. Coran stands behind the princess, his eyes locked onto the floor, his posture slightly slouched. Even his moustache seems a little sad.

Allura calls Pidge over to her, but Pidge doesn't move. Keith closes his eyes for a moment, recalling every useful thing Shiro has taught him. Once he's done calming himself, he tells the paladins to move to the hangers ASAP. His voice isn't quivering, but his eyes are watery. Lance takes the first step and hooks his arms with Hunk, dragging him out. Keith approaches Pidge and Pidge lets him carry her out the room. The red paladin nods at Allura and Coran, signalling them to join too. Allura walks cautiously, but Coran shakes his head and stays behind with Shiro.

The paladins are a crying mess. They're leaning on each other, wiping tears on their sleeves. Pidge is shaking and Hunk is nauseous. Lance is still and unmoving, and this distresses Keith. Allura is hugging her knees to her chest, but her eyes are locked on the four paladins. She mouths silent apologies, she's sorry for taking them away from their families, sorry for forcing them to becoming _her_ paladins, sorry that she's placed such a burden on their young shoulders. She's sorry she didn't wake up earlier to fix this mess, sorry that she isn't able to take them back to their families right now, and most importantly, sorry for not seeing through their usual cheery selves. She knows there are always a side that individuals hide, and though she has hoped that the paladins trust her enough to tell her what was on their mind. She expected this, but she didn't think that Keith would step up and help the rest of them the way he is now.

Just a moment ago, he was the one tearing up. Now? He's their backbone, he's the one Lance is crying on, the one soothing Pidge hair, the one giving encouraging smiles to Hunk.

She had underestimated the bond in this team and the guilt only brings more tears to her eyes. She's so proud of them. They were strangers stranded on a Blue Lion once, and now they've come so far. She laughs a little, which draws all of their attention, she smiles through her glistening tears and says : "Shiro is very proud of all of you."

A full day later, Shiro is finally allowed out the pod. Coran had watched the head of Voltron twist and struggle while the pod heals his body the entire time, not leaving unless it was for dinner or showers. Luckily the castle wasn't under attack during such a dire time. Coran has seen such things too many times, and he had hoped that he would never have to see such things again. He knew the costs of the war, and the fact that serving under King Alfor would mean sacrificing his chance to start a family. He soon realises that he is wrong.

When Shiro steps out the pod, he is bombarded by hugs (even from Keith) and is overwhelmed with the sudden affection from his team - not that he's complaining. Lance whines about how annoying Keith has been and Keith only crosses his arms and pouts like a child. Pidge is more hyperactive than he remembered and Hunk says that he's 'been stress cooking so much that the entire fridge is full please eat all the food Shiro you need to build your strength'.

Coran looks over at Allura, who's eyes are warm and relieved. Coran concludes that though at first glance, the Paladins are merely tiny beings with big dreams, however, he had seen how they dealt with their own battles. He saw, and was part of, a once fragmented family that did nothing but make bothersome noise for him and Allura, grow to become a wholesome, complete yet small family.

Such bravery doesn't come by everyday. Such strong bonds are to be cherished in every galaxy.


	7. Killing all the ladies

**#7: Killing all the Ladies**

Summary:

"Lance, you stay in the castle"

"Yeah, yeah I know, Shiro. Stay in the castle because I'm too good looking."

"That's not-"

"and walking on the streets would kill all the ladies'"

"SHIRO WE CANT HAVE A MURDERER ON THE TEAM"

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron - Legendary Defender**

 **A/N: This was lighthearted at the beginning, but my gOD I just couldn't help but make it a little angsty, now could I? I apologise for the sudden Angst Attacks™ lately. I promise a super fluffy and humorous chapter soon!**

 **ANYWAY, THANK YOU ALL FOR READING, FAVING, REVIEWING, AND FOLLOWING! YOUR SUPPORT IS VERY MUCH APPRECIATED, IT'S INDESCRIBABLE! THANK YOU!**

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"This is supposed to be a simple information extraction mission understand?" All eyes were locked onto Shiro's figure as he begins to brief the team on what to do once more. "I'm taking Pidge and Keith with me to that Galra base on the Green Lion." he says, zooming in on two planets orbiting close to each other, in the centre, there is an unnatural looking asteroid subtlety glowing an easily dismissed dark purple. "Hunk, if we need immediate evacuation due to unexpected events, I'm counting on you to back us up." Hunk nods and salutes. "Princess, Coran, we'll be maintaining radio silence until we get onto the base, we'll alert you once we've infiltrated their central command." The Alteans nod and wish them luck. "Lance, you stay in the castle and watch out for potential incoming Galra ships, if they spot us, put a stop to them subtlety." Lance simply sighs and nods.

"Yeah, yeah I know, Shiro." Lance says, waving his hands about, "Stay in the castle because I'm too good looking-"

"That's not-"

"And walking out would _kill_ all the ladies" he says, winking at the Princess. Allura only closes her eyes and sighs at the Blue Paladin. Hunk face palms and Pidge sniggers. Coran raises an eyebrow, but dismisses it quickly.

Keith, however, stares at Lance surprisingly. There's a mixture of betrayal, bewilderment and bafflement in his eyes. Keith panics because although he's been in fights he's never really _killed_ anyone before, but for someone to admit taking lives so nonchalantly frightens his very being. He looks to Shiro, who's _calm and collected_ like HOW AND WHY IS HE NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT THIS. In fact, no one is.

Keith decides that he's had enough, so he pushes Lance away from his friends and shouts "Shiro! We can't have a murderer on the team!"

Everyone's eyes are on him. Hunk looks positively terrified of Keith, and Pidge is holding in laughs. You can tell since their face is starting to redden.

"I can't believe you didn't own up to this back on Earth! You proudly claim murdering women here and yet can't even turn yourself in!" Keith continues. Allura steps backwards, and so does Coran, clearly shocked by the seemingly true words Keith has said and afraid of their beloved paladin. Lance raises an eyebrow at his teammates and looks to Hunk and Pidge. Both are at a complete loss for words.

"Shiro, why aren't you doing anything?"

Shiro only stares back at Keith blankly, unable to tell if he's joking or not. The answer, apparently, is _no. He isn't joking. Oh my God Keith do you ever socialise._ Keith goes on for some time as Shiro's internal monologue consists of _"Has Keith interacted with other human beings when I was gone?"_ and _"Should I stop this or let Lance explain? Would it make things worse?"_ His facial expressions mirror his internal conflict, and Hunk catches the sudden change in Shiro's demeanour quick enough to speak up.

"Keith," Hunk starts, "Lance hasn't murdered anyone."

The red paladin stops and stares. His eyes narrow in confusion, "but he just admitted-"

"Dude," Pidge says, their tone stern yet calm, "Lance was kidding. Keith, it's a joke."

"But he-"

"Murderers deny their crimes, Keith." Pidge practically shouts. "Do you see Lance doing that?" Keith opens his mouth to retort, but Pidge shuts him down with a sharp "NO!" Everyone jumps at the sudden raise in pitch and volume. Coran notes how fiercely loyal and protective Pidge is towards her friend and fellow teammate Lance.

"Thanks, Pidge." Lance manages to say. "You're the best, bud."

Pidge pushes up their glasses before exhaling, they then motion Shiro to continue with the debriefing.

Keith's eyes are still widened, but now that he has an idea of what's going on, he subtly retreats back to Shiro's side, his head is hung lower than usual and he mumbles something incoherent, though Shiro swears it sounds a little like "damn, Pidge is scary." but he dismisses it anyway.

However, the atmosphere remains tense. Hunk hates the daunting uncomfortable silence and coughs, which brings Shiro back from his thoughts to reality. He commands that they get into position as the Castleship approaches the base. He takes Keith to the hangars as Lance eyes both Pidge and Hunk before giving them a hug.

"I mean it." The blue paladin says as he clutches onto his friends tighter, "You guys are the best." He gives a salute to Pidge as they walk towards the hangars and Coran informs them to get into position and watch out for Galra ships.

Shiro looks bored as Keith looks guilty. Pidge raises an eyebrow at the two, before sighing and breaking the silence.

"Keith, you didn't really think Lance has had the balls to kill anyone, right."

No response.

Pidge can see Shiro stifling a laugh from the corner of their eyes, but Keith remains silent. They wonder what exactly went through Keith's mind, because honestly, how could he have thought it was true? Lance? Noodle-arms? Killing anyone? The mere thought of it didn't even make sense.

"Keith?" They try again.

Keith's voice is soft, almost inaudible. "I don't know Lance well. I never know when he's joking and when he's serious." He admits.

Shiro's laughter stops, his awkward face attempting to stifle laughter is gone, and replaced by a gentle expression. "Keith, you've got to stop taking things too seriously."

Pidge only smirks, "Keith, don't worry. I've been in your shoes." they say, both the red and black paladin whip their heads to look at their comrade. "I've learnt, through spending more time than necessary with both Hunk and Lance that Lance himself is a joke." They conclude proudly. This earns a small chuckle and shake of head from Shiro and a smile from Keith.

 _A few weeks(?) Days(?) (Shiro isn't counting anymore) later..._

"Hey Keith."

Keith looks up from his knife, only to meet Lance's smug expression. "What." he says, before returning his attention to polishing his knife.

"Are you the big spoon or little spoon?" Lance says, smirk evident on his face. Pidge is heard giggling in the vents, certain that Keith would say something embarrassing. They were sure that Keith didn't even know what _spooning_ means. Hunk is at the doorway, pressing his head against the door, too tired to deal with his friends' shenanigans.

Keith raises an eyebrow at the scene unfolding before him, and his lips curl up to resemble the smug expression Lance has on his face. "Knife." He answers, displaying the blade in his hands and twirling it with his fingers skilfully.

The giggling stops. Hunk looks towards Keith. Lance's eyes widen with excitement.

"OH THANK QUIZNACK HE'S HUMAN! HE GETS IT! HE GETS _STUFF._ " Lance celebrates. Pidge emerges from Keith vents, much to his annoyance. Hunk joins the party by hugging Keith and pumping his fist in the air. Allura pokes her head into the room to witness the celebration, before slowly backing up. Her back hits Shiro's chest and she stops. Shiro's eyebrows raise and she simply ushers him away, assuring him that everything's fine despite not really knowing what's going on.

"KEITH, BUDDY, MY MAN" Lance exclaims, Keith winces at the volume but smiles back anyway, "I WAS SO AFRIAD YOU WERE THE MOST UNSOCIABLE GUY YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS? HOW WORRIED _WE_ WERE?" He says, motioning to the Garrison Trio™, "I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!"

Keith looks to Hunk for help but he only smiles back at him. Pidge shakes their head, muttering, "Lance, you're such a joke." but Lance hugs them anyway.

Then an idea strikes the blue paladin. "KEITH!" he shouts.

"Yeah…?"

"I say Vol, you say Tron." He declares.

Keith's head tilts sideways.

Hunk's eyes widen. "Not again." he says.

Lance clears his throat animatedly, "Vol?"

Keith looks at him with furrowed eyebrows, "Vol…Tron?"

Pidge chokes and doubles over. Lance's right eye is twitching. Hunk facepalms. Keith only shrugs.

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 **To rainbowrider1290 : Thank you for your support, it means a lot to me knowing that you enjoyed it (and made you emotional.) (I'm sorry.)**

 **To PipeDreamPrayer: Thank you! To be honest, it killed me more than a little inside thinking about their families that they left on planet Earth. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for reviewing!**

 **To The Best Guesst : It's okay, let the tears fall! (Don't deny it!) And yes, much foreshadowing on Keith's ability to lead, thank you for highlighting that. Wish you best of luck at work and thank you so much for your support!**


	8. Food is the best way to bond

**#8 Food is the best way to bond**

Summary : Keith and Shiro have committed a serious crime - they've forgotten the heavenly taste of pancakes, it's up to Hunk to help save his friends.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron - Legendary Defender**

 **A/N: Are you all ready for a more lighthearted piece? Im going to take that as a yes, please enjoy.**

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Pidge groans as they set their eyes upon the green goo Coran likes to call "focusing food". The only thing they can focus on is how different and weird (in more bad ways than good) this food is. They've voiced their complaints to Hunk, who begged Allura to just _let them shop somewhere for decent food please!_ This earned an eye twitch from Coran, but he took the paladins shopping anyway.

Since then 'Team Voltron' as Lance renamed them (after receiving a smack on the head from Shiro when he suggested 'Lance's Bitches') has been eating _better_ quality food, with some variety, but it's not entirely the Earth food most of them were used to. Pidge figures something was better than nothing, and Hunk agrees - despite missing the delicacies of Planet Earth.

However, it changed when the battles got more intense, and time for food shopping just wasn't available anymore. Besides, between fighting evil aliens and upgrading or repairing the Castle of Lions, no one really cared what they ate, just whether there were still something in the food dispenser. Although this was true, Pidge still wished they could eat something, well, that tasted more like food than unknown substances, which was essentially what the green food goo was.

Pidge pokes at her plate, before taking a bite. Hunk notices their unusual movements and takes a seat next to them. "Okay, I hate to be that guy, but what's wrong?"

Pidge glances up. "Why would anything be wrong?"

Hunk only raises an eyebrow, "Well, first off you're sitting on my seat," he starts, "and secondly when you poke the food goo you poke it at a different angle." He says, "Oh, this might be a good time to tell you that Shiro wants you to stop playing with the food, you always poke before you eat, you could just eat it you know."

For approximately two Earth weeks, Pidge has maintained the same routines and ways of living, so _of course_ Hunk would notice.

The door slides open and in come a smiling Shiro and a pouting Keith. Pidge guesses that they've just sparred and Keith lost to Shiro. Or something predictable like that. They poke their food again.

This action catches Shiro's attention, "Pidge, don't poke your food, it's going to defile if you keep messing with it."

Keith snorts as Pidge glares up at their older team members. "At least Pidge is eating, Shiro." Keith speaks up, Pidge rolls their eyes before swallowing another mouthful.

Shiro smiles warmly, "I know they're not exactly pancakes, but it's food. We'll go to a nearby space mall to get stock up soon, okay?" He glances at Hunk, who's eyes are shimmering like stars at the mention of gathering ingredients. Shiro chuckles before muttering a quick "I can't even remember what pancakes taste like."

Keith somehow hears him, "Understandable," he says, "You haven't eaten Earth food for like two years or whatnot." Hunk gulps down his portion of the food and looks at Keith quizzically. "Even I've forgotten what they taste like." Keith finishes.

"What what tastes like?" Hunk asks.

"Pancakes" Answers Keith and Shiro in utter synchronisation. There's no emotion in their voice, their response is _casual_. Hunk wonders how his friends could be so casual to something like this, _how do you forget the taste of pancakes?_ It's a little expected from Shiro considering everything that he's went through, but Keith shouldn't have a reason to. Hunk knows he's been kicked out, but should that stop him from purchasing pancake mixes? No. Should that stop him from going out to eat things like, oh, just for example, _pancakes? NO._

"Uhh…Earth to Hunk?"

Hunk registers that a new voice has entered the room.

"We're not even on Earth, Lance." says Pidge, shoving more food goo in their mouth.

Hunk is still unmoving though, and it scares Keith just a little to see him like this. Lance glares daggers at Keith, visibly accusing him for breaking his best friend. "What did you say to him." Lance asks, Shiro tries to casually take a sip of water, but he's a little tense from hearing the foreign tone in Lance's voice.

Shiro decides to break the silence with an idiotic "Uh…"

"We forgot the taste of pancakes" Keith says, shrugging.

There seem to be tears in Hunks eyes as he whispers " _How?"_ Lance only pats his head in attempt to soothe his friend. Pidge sighs and shakes their head, before putting their bowl in the sink next to the Red and Black paladins. They pat Shiro on the arm, "Good going." before exiting the room.

Hunk closes his eyes and slams the table, shocking everyone present in the room. "Shiro, Keith," he says, "We will get the ingredients tomorrow. Zarkon can wait. He better not attack while I make you two pancakes or else he's got another thing coming." With that he rushes out the room and shouts for Coran.

Shiro and Keith, however, are still so very lost. They both look to Lance for help. The paladin shrugs and gets some food for himself, whistling an awfully familiar tune, but it's something they can't name.

Hunk was able to persuade Allura and Coran to let them buy more food. The Alteans agree, as they too are growing tired of eating food goo, of course, they are thankful they haven't run out of supplies, and they should not complain while in the midst of a war, but why deny themselves happiness?

It's been over two hours and Coran, Lance and Hunk have yet to return via pod. Pidge and Keith are forced into doing training routines with and by Shiro and Allura respectively as the mice cheer them on. Then, they hear it. It almost brightens the room immediantly, it catches everyone's attention and warms their heart. The mice squeal and rush towards the noise, chattering amongst themselves and celebrating the return of the paladins. Shiro smiles at the sound of Hunk's excited laughter, it's been a while since the team laughed so care freely, the overwhelming stress and fighting seemed to have taken away everyone's energy.

Allura takes Shiro's hand and ushers the smaller paladins to the kitchen, where she knows Hunk will be busying himself the newly bought ingredients. Possibly familiarising himself with what he can work with.

"Coran, if you don't let me take those bags, how am I going to train my arms?"

"On the training deck, Number 3!"

"No, but Coran, just leT ME TAKE THEM!"

Pidge chuckles before running towards the source of the bickering, and helps Lance with the sea of bags waiting to be unloaded from the overly cramped pod. Keith soon joins in the chaos, and he and Lance are soon competing who can take the most bags to the kitchen under 30 ticks, Coran is timing them, and not-so-subtly rooting for Lance.

Shiro and Allura peek into the kitchen, Pidge is handing Hunk the things he needs and he's _already_ cooking up something. The smell is familiar though, at first it seemed like something from a distant memory, something Shiro recognises, but can't quite put a finger on it. His eyebrows knit together slightly, trying to recall exactly _where_ he knows this from, but his memory is fuzzy, and the only thing he can recall is Keith's laughter. Which is a little weird.

Said paladin approaches the door, his lips tugged upwards forming the softest smile. Keith remembers the time where Shiro was attempting to make a pancake and failing miserably. He remembers seeing Shiro's sprightly and panicked face while the pancake mix falls through the colander holes, dropping onto the table and Shiro trying to put them back into a bowl helplessly. He feels a little guilty for not lending a hand, but Shiro's reaction was pure _gold._ He nudges Shiro with his elbow and smirks at him, Shiro looks at him confused, lost, with just a hint of sadness.

Keith catches on. His smirk grows as Hunk calls everyone to the dining table, "Be prepared to be amazed with _the_ best invention of human kind!"

Pidge clears their thraot "Technically, the best-"

"Oh my god, Pidge!" Lance says taking a seat, "Just eat the pancakes!"

"Space pancakes" The green paladin corrects.

Hunk goes over and pulls on the sleeves of Keith and Shirt, sits them down forcefully, and presents a plate of freshly made pancakes. The delicious smell of the sweet goodness brings a smile to Allura and Coran, who apparently had a similar type of food for breakfast before the war, but had never tried the Earth versions of them.

One whiff of the pancake in front of him unlocks his clouded memory. He sees glimpses of a dirtied kitchen, and a preteen Keith covered in pancake mix, sticking his tongue out at him. He then remembers a severely burnt piece of food which he assumes is a pancake, and he remembers Keith poking it with his fork, which then causes the structure to collapse. They both tumble over laughing.

While he's spacing out, Keith retells the story of how Shiro failed to follow instruction from the back of a box, yet he was good enough to be allowed to venture into space. The team's laughter fills the once silence castle with love and togetherness, as opposed to the two weeks of sulking, whining and being literally half dead (given most of them were put into healing pods, Allura's orders)

Everything seemed a little better, especially when the team practically swallow down the pancakes, with tears glistening in their eyes because _holy hell this is so good!_

"Ohmergerd Hunk." Lance slurs, "do you know how much I love you, bud? You're the best." he says, mouthful of pancake. Pidge groans and grumbles "Chew with your mouth shut, tailor." A habit they picked up from Matt.

Shiro and Keith are the ones enjoying the pancakes the most, given that they've forgotten the heavenly taste of such a beautiful creation. Hunk smiles proudly at what he's achieved and Shiro thanks Hunk for reminding them of Earth. After approximately 12 pancakes in one go, per person, they're sprawled on the couch in the common room, sighing in delight.

Hunk is at the doorway, beaming at his stuffed teammates as they all manage a thank you before passing out on the couch. Needless the say, Hunk is happy for bringing happiness to his friends, especially in the form of food, an art that he has mastered at the age of 13.

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 **A/N: Thank you all for reading, faving, following and reviewing! You're all very much appreciated, thank you so much! I'm glad that you're enjoying this as much as I am, and can relate to how I portray these characters. It means a lot to me!**


	9. Space Mall Take Two

#9: Space Mall 2.0

Summary: Allura is 110% done with seeing the boys either shirtless or wearing her gowns when their clothes are in the wash. She decides that as the voice of reason in the team, she needs to take team Voltron on a shopping spree. Also because she likes sparkly things, and shopping can't hurt anyone.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron - Legendary Defender**

 **A/N: I'm at a summer camp right now, so unfortunately updates will take longer. This almost 2000 word chapter took a _week_ due to the lack of time. I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting, and will be working on the next chapter ASAP. Hope you enjoy!**

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Allura wasn't expecting this. She really did not think this through. She swears she isn't blushing, but she feels the mice smirking. She tries not to stare at this blessing and curse mixed into one, and attempts to focus on the delicious food Coran whipped up for them. She hears Keith and Lance bickering again, and somehow that eases her mind. She hopes her cheeks are too flushed, and hopes the feeling of second hand embarrassment could just go away already, but she takes one glance at the Paladins of Voltron and she finds herself torn between laughing and shielding her face.

Crowded around the table are Keith, Lance and Pidge, struggling to comfortably wear her royal gowns. They're a little too tight for Keith around the arms, and he's trying not to stretch them or rip them so his movements are restricted and awkward. Even the way he walks makes Allura just want to lose her composure and laugh at the sight. Lance looks wonderful in a gown, she won't deny it, the way he glides when he wears her gown really makes him look majestic, it's surprising how easily he pulls it off. Allura is very proud of her blue Paladin. As for Pidge, well, the dresses are a little too long for her, but Coran did manage to locate the storage room, have the Paladins clean it and dig out some clothes for Pidge. They aren't complaining about the attire since they modified it to fit their comfort, which was great because they were the only ones who didn't look either awkward or too stunning for Allura and Coran.

As for Shiro, well…He's another story altogether. He didn't want to ruin Allura's clothes, so he took it upon himself to walk around the castle shirtless, or sometimes, have a towel draped around the shoulders. Allura is still trying to get used to the sight, and _no of course she's not blushing, she needs to remain professional!_ Coran often raises his eyebrow at her statement, she only huffs and walks away.

As for Hunk, he's somehow figures a way out of this. Since the other Paladins (namely Keith) were not going to wear the given sleepwear provided by the previous Paladins, he's been going around collecting and wearing everyone's sleepwear. Which leaves everyone else without something to wear to bed (which is also fine with Keith, given that he doesn't change his clothing much anyway).

Coran decides that this is all very amusing, and seeing the Princess so speechless was definitely not something one could accomplish easily. Allura, however, decides that this needs to stop. She will not take any more of Shiro walking around shirtless (not that she doesn't appreciate it), or Keith moving stiffly in training (too many bruises to take care of), Lance convinced that he has become new royalty (he'd never let Allura live it down), and Hunk stealing anymore sleepwear (she's sure Shiro wants his back).

When their clothes are out of the wash, Pidge suggests that they improve it, so it takes less time to wash and dry and whatnot, _and_ allow large amounts of clothes to be thrown in at once. Hunk agrees and volunteers to help. Keith shrugs, but nods anyway. Lance is excited for more wardrobe change.

Allura smirks. Coran doesn't like that look on the Princess' face. It's too mischievous. Almost dangerous.

She clears her throat, Coran sighs. He already knows where this is going, he practically raised Allura, he knows her every move and expression. He is also the person she was complaining to about the paladins wearing her clothing, and her insane ideas of spending a day at a nearby spacemall. Although, he is proud that she is letting loose a little. After all, everyone needs a way to relax, perhaps Princess Allura's is shopping.

"So, Paladins." She starts, Pidge's head shoots up, their glasses seemingly sparkle in interest. Hunk's eyes are widened, pausing mid-bite to focus on the next words coming out of their commander's mouth. Shiro and Keith cock their head to the side synchronised, like it's practiced. Lance places his fork down, props his elbows on the table and gives the princess his full attention.

"Oh no." Coran mutters.

"What does everyone think about a shopping spree?" She says, smiling at the five slightly confused and terribly dressed paladins. Pidge is the first to react - they groan and put their head down on the table with an audible _thunk._

Lance smiles devilishly. "I like the way you think, Princess." he says. "We are _way_ overdue for new clothes, I mean, how long has Keith had that outfit on?"

Keith tries to raise his arms in protest, a rip slices the air. Shiro chuckles, and then tries to hide it with an extremely awkward cough. Keith admits defeat, "okay, I'm game. When are we going."

"Hold up, hold up." Pidge says, waving their hands around frantically, their face horrified by what her usually quiet friend agreed to. "We, the paladins of Voltron, are going shopping?" Allura smiles and nods excitedly, disregarding Pidge's obvious reluctance. Seeing Allura so pumped up for something scared Pidge a little, but they decide that they like to see the Princess happy. "All right, _fine._ But we're only going once. So get everything you losers need so we don't need to go through this again." They say, slumping in their chair and pouting at Hunk. Hunk simply looks proud and pats their head.

"Okay, I think we can manage that." Says Shiro, "a day off shouldn't be too bad."

"Speak for yourself" mumbles Pidge.

Keith just stares at Allura pleadingly, "Just get me new clothes." his voice is barely heard, but Allura catches the soft "Please" Keith had tacked on at the end of his sentence. Lance stands up, his chair screeching the floor causing the mice to cringe and scramble to safety, his wide grin is almost unsettling and he's bouncing on his toes. His hyperactive attitude is contagious, because for some reason Hunk decides shopping for clothes isn't such a terrible idea after all.

—

Three hours later, Team Voltron (minus Coran) are cramped together in a pod, making their way to the nearest Space Mall™. Allura drives as Lance sings 'Running Errands With My Mom' continuously despite Keith's attempts of murder. Thankfully Shiro is there to tie Keith down. Pidge is annoyed with their current situation as Hunk hums softly in delight.

"Okay Princess," Shiro says, massaging his neck - the aftermath of being cramped in a small pod is a living hell, "where to first?"

Allura, who is standing in the middle with the paladins surrounding and protecting her, puts on her sunglasses (indoors, yes) to avoid being recognised and points to the nearest shop with sparkly clothes. They move as one, as they do when they form Voltron, and escort the Princess into the shop. There are audible gasps from a few pedestrians, but there are many who stare in awe despite not knowing who they are. Keith shifts uncomfortably, but Pidge simply nudges him on the hip, helping him relax a little.

Lance opens the door to the shop and they step inside. Shiro mentally counts down :

Three. Two. One.

Allura has been let loose and insane. She grabs three handfuls of clothes, and shoves various items onto Keith, who recently became her servant for a day. She drags Pidge and looks for suitable and fashionable outfits for her friend. Hunk and Lance are off shopping on their own, just like they had back on Earth. Shiro helps Keith out the mountain of outfits Allura wants to try out.

Approximately five ticks later, Allura returns with a well dressed Pidge with neat hair. Keith tries to hold in a laugh, but ultimately fails and gives up. Shiro smiles at Pidge proudly, while mentally memorising the image in front go him for future blackmail.

Another five ticks go by and Lance and Hunk have finished shopping. Lance suggests to go to the next store, so he drags Keith away and leaves Shiro with Allura and Pidge.

Shiro waits patiently as Allura tries on thousands of clothes, and cooes at a dressed up and scowling Pidge. In the end, they ended up carrying twelve bags out the store. The cashier was shocked to see old currency, but accepted it nonetheless given how much Allura was willing to buy.

Lance, Keith and Hunk are satisfied with their purchase. Despite Lance's awkwardly painful attempt to give Keith a makeover, they agreed that it was fun for the most part, and accomplished some team bonding. They wait outside their shop and catch a glimpse of a small figure clad in green. They move to a more noticeable spot. Once the boys see Allura, Shiro and Pidge, they smile and wave to catch their attention.

Allura, Pidge and Shiro spot Lance, Hunk and Keith already wearing new clothes nearby. Lance is wearing the space equivalent to a tank top, with the same shade of blue as the Altean sky, with jeans and what Shiro assumes are light up shoes (although he doubts it). Hunk is wearing a new yellow shirt accompanied by a comfortable sweater of a darker shade, he also bought new shoes, more comfortable yet functional shoes. Keith is clad in red and black.

 _As expected,_ Shiro thinks.

Keith has found an identical black V neck shirt, but instead of his usual white and red jacket, he has replaced it with a black and red jacket, with almost the same pants (except with more pockets) and combat boots. So technically, he didn't change much. Shiro doesn't know what to think about that.

To the red, blue and yellow paladin's surprise, Pidge willingly let Allura dress them up. Pidge is wearing a one piece suit with leaf patterns plastered all over the fabric, their arms are exposed but they bought a blazer to go with it. The fourteen year old looked like they walked out of a fashion magazine. Needless to say, Allura is thrilled with her work.

Allura herself is dressed nicely in an equivalent to a sun dress on Earth, only that it sparkles in multiple colours under the moonlight. With her natural light hair and starry eyes, her entire being is _glowing._

Shiro didn't get himself anything. He said he didn't really need much. Allura disagrees, and Keith complains "If I had to go through this with Lance, you do too."

The paladins agree to drag him all over the shopping mall, finding the perfect outfits for their leader. Hunk speaks up, "We should totally have a challenge," he says, "whoever gets the most suitable, functional and fashionable clothes for Shiro wins, and gets to eat my gran's homemade space-carrot cake for dinner."

That one sentence was enough motivation for the team (and Allura) to scramble and shop for Shiro. The black paladin swears he feels his arm falling off again from all their aggressive tugging.

They end up returning to the castle with a total of thirty four shopping bags. Coran isn't even surprised. He just does not want see the bills.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you all for reading, faving, following and reviewing! I do take the time to go through your reviews, so if you'd like me to improve on something, or to suggest anything, feel free to do so! It gives me the chance to not only better my own writing, but provide enjoyment for you. Thank you once again for your support.**

TO:

Ruehoos : Thank you so much! I'll try to update more often!

KnightOwl247: Who doesn't! The show's too busy with the plot itself it almost neglects the 'behind the scenes' of Voltron (aka. the bonding sessions.)

The Best Guesst: Thank you so much! I try my best, and your reviews give me life.

NoMeImporta32: Hello new reader, thank you for clicking into my story, hope you enjoy it, and thank you for your kind reviews!

Strawberry r Kitty: You've got a good eye! Thanks for pointing that out, I'll go back and change it ASAP. Thank you for the compliments and I'M REALLY GLAD YOU ENJOYED!


	10. 20 inches shorter

#10: Twenty inches shorter

Summary: When Pidge takes a hit for Lance on the battlefield, they never expected the strange turn of events. The effects of the ray were temporary, yes, but who was to expect waking up the next day and not be able to reach their computer desk.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron - Legendary Defender**

 **A/N: Wow that was such a long unexpected hiatus! I am truly sorry for the lack of updates the past few weeks. The final hurrah of summer was hectic! (Not that I'm complaining). However, this does mean that school will be approaching soon, which may mean a decrease in updates. But fear not! I've got some stuff drafted and ready to finalise, so updates _should_ be more frequent (unless school decides to kill me first). Anyway, I'm truly thankful for all of you reviewing, faving, following, and even just clicking _into_ the fic. Your support and reactions to my writing is greatly appreciated (and makes me really happy) Thank you!**

* * *

The battle flashed before their eyes, ears ringing from impact.

Voltron was barely holding on, admittedly at the brink of falling apart. They could feel Green's energy draining, they could feel Keith struggling to fight off the incoming attacks alone. Hunk and Lance were putting their all in the lower thrusters and Shiro was just trying to get them all out alive.

What they thought was a simple planet with no inhabitants turned out to be occupied with deadly ex-prisoners of the Galra Empire. Shiro and Allura tried to convince them to join the fight, but most - if not all - refused their offer, and even accused them of being spies. After the long years of imprisonment, they were done with being treated like nothing by the Galra, and what they had now was most likely their best shot of survival and freedom. They were done with fighting the Galra.

However, they weren't completely done with _fighting_ in general. Allura was shocked to see how these escapees treated each other with so little respect and so much violence. They picked fights left and right, which leads Team Voltron here, circling the planet trying to find a way out from their cleverly built protective boarders that hid them from Galra detection. The entire planet had a force field resembling a particle barrier around it, effectively shielding them from danger. However, this wasn't helping Voltron at all.

"Pidge, find a weak spot!" Hunk cries as he dodges another beam of attacks.

Not only did it shield unwanted guests from the outside, it kept them _in_.

"I only have two hands, Hunk!" Pidge yells at the top of their lungs. Keith jumps at the sudden loud noise from their usually quiet member of the team. "Ask Lance to do it!" They manage to say before grunting in pain as another fleet attacks Voltron's left arm from behind.

"I'm a little busy at the moment!" A few small screeches are heard before Voltron is sent flying backwards, crushing the fleet that _smartly_ chose to attack from behind.

"Lets stay focused guys, as long as we work as one we'll make it out of here in no time." Shiro scolds, his voice is tight and his eyes are twitching. He looks like he hasn't slept in days, they're bloodshot and stinging as he tries to focus on the millions of targets coming in hot at Voltron.

"I think it's best we split up!" Lance suggests, "that way we cover more ground." He adds before Keith could have his say.

"I agree! Legs disband!" Hunk cheers.

"Splitting up makes us more vulnerable!" Keith argues, he could feel his arms slowly growing weaker.

"I think it's worth a shot," Shiro says, "the lions each have their own speciality, maybe we can use that to our advantage."

A ray of what resembles a lighting flashes before their eyes.

"Oh no, they've got a new gun, HOW MANY GUNS DO THE HAVE?" Hunk cries.

"Okay! Lets dissemble!" Roars Shiro.

Blinding light swallows the figure of Voltron, many had to cover their eyes and halt their weapons and war machines. Instead of a tall bulk of an ass-kicking machine, Voltron divided into five lions.

"LETS FINISH THEM!" A voice shouts. A sea of Voltron's new enemies agree. They surround the five lions and intimidate them by numbers.

Shiro and Keith smirk. Lance, Hunk and Pidge are chuckling evilly.

Princess Allura is a little frightened of the Paladins and their reactions to the sudden major threat they were facing.

In a flash, Keith and the Red Lion zip through the crowd, the Shiro and the Black lion tailing them, using the jaw blade to annihilate Voltron's newest challenger. Lance wasn't far behind, he spins Blue around and freezes the mass crowd of war machines behind him, Pidge does the same with the ones in their section with the Green lion, and Hunk and the Yellow lion go underneath the frozen or entangled group of fighter planes. Hunk reverses the engine, and shoots upwards, knocking them all unconscious.

"Yes!" The Garrison Trio shout, their newly developed plan had worked despite Allura's constant worry about their fight plan.

All five paladins realise the lack of new fighter planes, and how the barrier was beginning to thin. They let out a cheer in victory and then Pidge notices something shooting out towards them at the corner of their eye.

"LANCE WATCH OUT!"

The rest of the team watch in horror as beams of light envelop the Green lion.

"PIDGE!" Lance's voice breaks, he quickly moves the Blue lion towards the unresponsive Green, but Keith blocks him.

"We don't know what hit them!" The red paladin scolds.

Shiro quickly picks up the Green lion using the Black lion's mouth with caution, and leads the team towards the Castle outside the barrier. The Black Paladin steers straight ahead, trying to ignore the sounds of protest made by Lance.

"We have to check on Pidge first! Shiro, _please_!"

Coran and Allura are panicking as their youngest Paladin has yet to respond to their calls. Coran speeds to a pod and prepares it for Pidge, just incase...just incase...

Hunk is shaking, he probably could've taken that hit. The Yellow lion's strength could've defected it or endured it, but the Green lion wasn't built specifically for it! Hunk curses as he wasn't fast enough to notice and protect. How can Voltron defend the universe when they couldn't even protect their youngest Paladin?

Lance is freaking out in the Blue lion, screaming at Keith and trying to get him to just _move out the fucking way._ His friend was just shot down, how could Keith just stand there?

Keith knows Shiro's swearing under his breath. He could hear the slight 'sh-'s and 'fu-'s that could easily be misheard as a helmet malfunction. He knows Shiro well enough though, he's pretty sure the Black Paladin's calm hides a monstrous storm. If he were to be completely honest, Keith's insides were twisting with rage as well. He would've chased after where the beam originated from and obliterate them already, but Shiro's sharp "No!" Had held him back. He knew that tone, but he wished daily not to hear that venomous tone in his usually calm voice. It was bone chilling, and even that was an understatement. Keith understood what the priorities were, and they were not revenge.

Not now, anyway.

* * *

Darkness.

Just nothing. Pidge swears that they have their eyes opened, and yet, they see nothing. Pidge knows that there should be some light from their laptop even when all the lights are off, but when they turn their head to look…there's nothing there. Just pitch black.

That's when the panic sets in. By the position they're in, Pidge estimates that they're back at the castle, and back on the bed. The sheets smell like how they left it this morning.

Hands unconsciously clutch tightly at the sheets underneath them. Tears start to flow limitlessly. How can they lose their sight now? Not now…Not like this, they can't afford to lose sight! Who's going to check for errors on the lions? Repair them? Upgrade them? Who's going to fly the green lion? Pidge will admit that their bond with Green isn't strong enough, unlike Shiro's bond with Black. Pidge can't _see through the lion's eyes_ as Allura hoped the Paladins could.

A shuffling sound diverts their attention. A hand is placed on Pidge's shoulder, and thats when they break down completely. All the built up emotion, doubt and worry let loose in one scream.

Lance watches them with tears in his eyes, he tries to soothe them with words of reassurance. Apparently Green awoke halfway back to the Castle Ship, but Pidge was still knocked unconscious. Green flew them back to the ship and shut down and awaited for repairs, Hunk took that as a sign and started restoring Green faster than anyone could say 'quiznak'. Shiro carefully took the small figure knocked out in the cockpit and placed them in a pod that Coran had prepared. The team held their breath as they waited for the pod to heal them, thankfully it analysed exactly what aftereffects Pidge would unfortunatley have to go through. Temporary blindness from the sudden exposure of light was simple one of many possible side effects.

Although Pidge was let out by the pod, Lance didn't stop worrying, hence why he sat himself on Pidge's chair, and waited for them to wake.

"Pidge, it's okay, you're going to be okay." he says, choking back his own tears as Pidge's tears continue, tainting the pillow a darker shade of grey. "Pidge, you're fine, you're going to be fine." He see's their lips trembling, of fear? Shock? Anger? He couldn't decipher…and a part of him didn't want to. But it was his fault wasn't it? He didn't see what was coming for him, and injured a teammate. What a lousy friend and paladin he was.

 _Maybe he didn't deserve to be one._

As if Pidge read his mind, their right hand found it's way to his. "I'm going to be fine." They repeat, "It's just flash blindnesss. Temporary, right?" Their voice is calm and collected, the words they choose are specific and somewhat reassuring. Lance is proud of his friend, but also sorry.

"Pidge," he begins, but they shook their head, shaking off his attempt at apologising, a small smile forms on their face.

"I'll be okay." They say.

Two knocks at the door and Shiro pokes his head in. He's still in uniform, but his hair is more of a mess. Keith is behind him, his arms crossed and eyebrows knitted in worry and fear.

"Pidge?" Shiro's voice cuts through the silence, it wasn't very loud, and one could hear his voice quivering.

"Hey Shiro." Pidge greets.

"You doing okay?" he asks.

Pidge swallows and thinks before answering. "I could be better, because, y'know. But I'll come around."

Pidge knows better than to worry Shiro more than they have to. They know what Shiro's going through alone, and they'd be damned if they put more weight on his shoulders.

"Allura said that this will last for five more Earth hours, tops." Keith says, he's now leaning on the door, eyes fixed on the figure on the bed. "And then, you'll be back to normal."

Pidge smiles gratefully. "Okay. That's good." In honesty, it wasn't so bad. Might as well take a day off. What really bothered Pidge was what this would mean for their friends. Pidge can live with this.

The team let Pidge rest peacefully in their room, although they'd come back to check on them every hour. Shiro and Keith decide to spar off their worries as Hunk (with Lance's assistance) attempt to repair and rebuild Green. Coran has been scouring the entire ship for possible painkillers for their injured paladin and Allura has been flying the ship away from other known civilisations. They couldn't risk a fight with the Galra now.

Unknown to the team, a burning pain spreads throughout Pidge's body after the fifth hour. Their voice is lost. Half-returned vision completely gone. The pain doesn't stop, it just keeps spreading, and their bones, muscles, everything, seemingly on fire.

* * *

Pidge is trembling in fear, trying to call out for anyone in the castle, but their throat useless from the sudden internal attack. They pass out under the sweaty sheets.

"Don't you think Pidge should be okay now?" Lance asks, Hunk is on his stomach, hands by his sides, chin tilted upward, and eyes scanning Pidge's blueprints. "It's been seven hours…" Lance says, fidgeting in his chair.

Hunk gets up and stretches his tense body, "We should ask Shiro…or Allura…or Coran." Hunk suggests, "I also need some food. And Pidge needs better handwriting." He says. "I wonder how Shiro reads this…"

The pair exit the hangar and locate Shiro and Keith in the kitchen getting a drink. Keith is sprawled on the table, with a scowl on his face. Shiro isn't any better. He's sat on the floor chugging the water down his throat. "Next time…I say stop…you actually…stop." Keith says in between pants.

Lance raises an eyebrow, "I don't even know if I want to kn-"

"This castle is trying to kill me." Keith concludes.

Shiro chuckles, "You keep that attitude up and the castle just might." He says, "You need to work on your stamina, Keith."

The red paladin sticks out his tongue before sending a glare at Lance. "What do you want?"

"Oh, ex _cuse_ _me, princess._ " Lance says, grinding his teeth, "Can't a fellow team member come and get a drink and some food? Yeesh!" He strides towards Hunk, who tosses him two boxes of alien snacks and fills up two mugs of water.

"Hey, Shiro?"

"Hm?"

"Don't you think Pidge should be up by now?" Hunk asks, head tilted.

"We checked on them just now," Shiro says, standing up from the floor, "they're asleep."

Hunk's lips form an 'O' and bids Keith and Shiro goodnight. Keith groans and gets up from the table for a shower, he pats Shiro's back and mumbles a half-hearted goodnight. Shiro smiles, although something in his mind bothers him…Hunk was right. It has been seven hours. Although he knows Pidge may need rest, but they should be up and about. Pidge has always been more of a night-owl anyway, even on the nights where they spent the entire day fighting or infiltrating Galra ships. Perhaps it's because Pidge has directly been hit, thats understandable…however…call Shiro insane, but he's pretty sure the lump under the blankets have shrunk in the span of a few hours…

* * *

The sheets are far too sweaty for Pidge. It's disgusting. Wait…did they even shower? _My skin is sticky_ , Pidge notes - _gross_.

Pidge opens their eyes, and to their surprise, light starts to flood their vision. That's good. All they have to do now is inform the team. Pidge's eyes lock onto the phone by their bedside, and isn't even surprised to find that they slept the entire day away.

It is currently the next day, 07:29AM. Pidge sighs and decides that bathing before informing the team would be a better alternative than being hugged by 6 other people in their sweaty clothes and sticky skin. They shuffle to the edge of the bed. Seems like Shiro somehow enlarged the size of the bed for their comfort. Or something. It feels more like a double-bed than a single one like it used to be. Their feet dangle at the side and they jump down.

"OUCH! MOTHERFUCKER!"

The pain wakes Pidge entirely. Their vision is no longer the type of blurry you'd feel after waking up. Pidge looks up to be greeted by a seemingly larger room. Their brows furrow. "What the fuck…?" They whisper before looking down at their clothes.

Loose. Sweaty. Oversized. Wait, _Oversized?_

Pidge stands up, they know that they were short before but this is a new level of short. It's a _toddler_ level of short. Their head doesn't even go past the back of the chair _what is_ ** _happening_** _?_

"This is not fucking happening." They squeak. Wait. _Squeak?_ Pidge's vocal range as increased and it's squeakier and higher than they're used to. "Okay, stay calm." They scold. What's the next course of action? Would there even _be_ a next course of action? Yes, right, get outside, tell Allura and Coran. They'll fix everything!

Fuck. The tip of their head doesn't even reach the doorknob-button-thing. A switch! They can't have their mentality to decrease as their body has! Pidge takes a deep breath before jumping and almost destroying the device, but they're outside. The castle looks taller, darker and all in all, more dangerous. But that doesn't matter right now! Get to someone!

Lance's room is the closest to their's. Pidge pounds on the door, before grumbling to jump and open it. They find it to be empty. The bottles of lotion and packets of facemasks untouched. The bed is still made, with their headphones put neatly on the pillow. Pidge raises an eyebrow. They leave the door open and run to the next door.

Hunk. Light sleeper. Pounding the door should be fine.

After about a minute of kicking and punching a metal door, Pidge slams on the panel. The door slides open with a louder _whoosh_ than normal. Pidge almost cringes but they see the darkly lit room with their two best friends sound asleep. Lance on the chair and Hunk on the bed, sideways, wish his feet dangling. Pidge rushes over and grabs Hunk's left leg, attempting to shake him awake. They almost puke at the stench of Hunk's feet. "Hunk, what the fuck, buddy." they say.

Lance is next, Pidge doesn't like how they only go up to his mid-torso. They pat his knees before violently shaking his legs to wake him. He's a goner. There's no use. Pidge only groans at their useless best friends.

Next target should be Keith. But he's always up early doing who knows what. They jump and slam their fists at the panel, as expected, the room is lit, his jacket is on the wall, bed is made (but not as neatly as Lance), and his bayard is absent. _Training._ Pidge deduces.

Shiro's room is the furthest from Pidge, and their legs are tired. They should've appreciated their longer legs and taller figure. When they turn back to normal, Pidge is going to shower their body with praises. They finally make it to Shiro's, they jump, but before their palms can slam onto the panel, Shiro steps out.

"FUCK!"

Pidge's face collides with Shiro's abdomen. Pidge wishes that Hunk would be the one to open the door - that way their face wouldn't be bruised by a fucking washboard.

"Oh my god, Pidge?"

Pidge lands on the floor, bum probably bruised from the floor. They pout. Shiro's eyes widen as his fears are confirmed, the five year old sitting in front of him is Pidge Gunderson, AKA Katie Holt — _Matt's going to_ ** _kill_** _him._

"Shiro, this ith just one of the side effectz right?" Pidge asks before clamping their hands around their mouth. No, no, no, not speaking too!

Shiro's jaw drops. "Okay, we'll just…we'll…Yes Allura, okay c'mon Pidge." He says as he sprints across the hallway.

"Shiro!"

The black paladins stops and smacks his forehead with his human hand. "Right." He mutters before sprinting back and scooping the child into his arms. They rush past Keith, who's fresh from a shower and a little stunned to see a light copper haired child in Shiro's arms.

There's only one person on the ship with that hairstyle and that coloured hair: Pidge.

Shiro frantically knocks on Allura's door, but receives no answer. Pidge is pouting at the lack of response from the princess, but reminds themselves that pouting is a big no-no. They must remain the mentality of a fifteen year old. Their body and voice can be gone, but if their mind goes too? Pidge will ensure that hell will be unleashed upon the one who cursed them.

They check the common room, kitchen, healing pods as Pidge tells Shiro everything, before going to the central command area. Allura is standing in the centre of blinding Altean light as she drives the ship forward. She senses their presence though. "Morning!" She greets, she turns and…

"What is that?" She shrieks.

"Thanks, princess." Pidge mutters.

"A human child? How?"

Shiro explains while waving his free arm around in attempt to make everything clearer - it's not really helping though. Allura's right eye twitches and shakes her head. "Okay. Well, we've tested everything we could and the conclusion was that Pidge would not die, but just have side effects." She started, "Although not all specific side effects were listed…perhaps this is one of them?"

Pidge squirms in Shiro's hold, he lets them down. Pidge glances up at Allura before putting their hands together at the tip of their lips. "BOI." They start, "This 'side-effect' may be the key to time travel! Much like when you were stuck in that wormhole! Allura, What happens now?"

The princess glances up at Shiro, who's just as lost as she is. "Well…"she stammers, "I'm sure it'll wear off eventually. I just, don't know when. But we can't place you in a pod, it wont heal you since you're technically not injured."

"Not injured?" Pidge repeats.

"See, if the pod senses that nothing in you is broken, it won't heal you. We tried putting you in the pod forcefully when you were unconscious but it wouldn't accept or heal you." Allura explains. "I'm getting Coran to fix that afterwards though." She adds.

The door behind them opens with a wide-eyed Keith. "So I wasn't insane." He says before entering and crouching down to look at Pidge.

"Don't fucking crouch down, Keith." Pidge huffs in their high-pitched voice.

Allura covers her face with her hands and mouths 'So cute' to Shiro, who agrees, although he does want to solve the situation as fast as possible.

"How are we going to form Voltron if Pidge can't reach anything." Keith says.

"Wow, Keith, don't be fucking rude." Pidge argues, punching Keith's shoulder. Although to the eighteen year old it feels more like a tap. Or a drop of rain landing on his shoulder.

"Keith is right." Shiro says, "and Pidge - language."

A soft grumble comes from Pidge and Allura does everything in her power to avoid squealing at the adorableness of her paladin.

"Anyway," Shiro continues, "we should probably wake Lance and Hunk to tell them about the news."

"They're out cold," says Keith, "their door was open so I went in. Tried waking the both of them, but they didn't budge."

A dark look takes over Pidge's previously innocent facial expression. "Desperate times, desperate measures." They say.

"Pidge, are you sure?" Keith asks. Pidge nods while clutching onto Shiro's neck tightly, eyes full with determination. It's almost scary, but since they are technically five years old, the usual 'almost-evil' demeanour of Pidge is replaced by a mischievous one.

* * *

Pidge's plan was to simply drop them on top of Hunk's stomach, which will most likely wake him up, have him scream, which will wake Lance up. Keith agreed to the plan because if Lance screams for over 2 seconds, Keith gets to punch him in the face. Shiro disapproves, of course, but who could say no to Pidge's newfound puppy dog eyes? Pidge swears that the eyes were not intentional, but Shiro doubts them.

Pidge can manipulate people as easily as they do with machines.

"Okay, but I want you to think this through." Shiro says, "If we end up regretting this, I'm pretty sure Hunk will stop making nice food and we'll be eating defiled space goo for the rest of our lives."

"Just drop the baby, Shiro." Keith says, rolling his eyes.

"I'm not a baby." hisses a certain five year old, in the arms of the black paladin.

They carefully enter the room, Shiro moves to place Pidge atop of Hunk. "Three, two, one."

A series of yells almost wake the lions in their hangars. It is then accompanied by the sound of a punch and a "WHAT THE FUCK, KEITH?"

* * *

A scolding, an ice pack, an angry Hunk, a frustrated yet amused advisor, a pouting five year old, a sleep-deprived hot-head, and a facepalming Shiro later, the castle finally settled down with the idea of a five year old on board.

Although they haven't worked out the details as to how they were going to form Voltron yet, they decided to write up a schedule to keep an eye out for Pidge. Much to Pidge's dismay, Coran said it was best to always have someone with them, incase anything were to happen, long legs would benefit over tiny, stubby ones. Pidge could only pout.

Coran went first, mainly because he needed help with the maintaining the castle anyway. At first, Pidge was against the idea of having to be babysat by their equals, but they changed their mind pretty quickly when Coran didn't treat Pidge like a fragile, useless child, he needed their opinions on how to upgrade or repair some of the ship and Pidge was delighted to offer their assistance.

Hunk was next in line, he made sure to keep Pidge out of reach of the things fifteen-year-old-Pidge possessed. No laptop. No tools. No more upgrading Green, _Pidge no means no! Don't pout at me! You know that's my weakness!_ Hunk managed to get Pidge into baking. Thankfully five year old Pidge had more patience in baking than their older counterpart. This was notably the first time Hunk didn't hear them say 'we could turn up the heat to 3570° to bake it for a minute'. Although less of a mess in the kitchen was appreciated (given that it looks like food hell broke loose) but a happy Pidge was Hunk's goal of the day.

Pidge appreciated how Keith didn't even consider the fact that they were shrunk. He treated them the same as he would when they were larger in size and age. He took them on walks around the castle, and snooped around the rooms out of boredom. He didn't take them to he training room in fear that Shiro and Allura would skin his (half Galra) ass alive. However, after around twenty minutes Pidge decided to cling onto Keith's left leg to avoid walking. By the end of the hour they have opened around seventy doors to find either empty rooms or rooms they would have to question Allura about, with a five year old Pidge clinging onto Keith's torso, and snug in his arms.

Lance was unimpressed because why would you take a five year old on a one hour long walk?

"Makes them tired, then they nap. Simple logic." Was Keith's answer.

Lance had a lot of experience babysitting his younger siblings and more recently, his cute baby nephews and nieces. He kept Pidge in his room, borrowed their laptop and decided to entertain Pidge with the retro video games Pidge had somehow installed on their laptop. He even prepared snacks to go with the weird neon pink alien soda they purchased a while ago. A hiccuping Pidge was not ideal, but it was kinda cute. When he told Pidge, they decided to attack his face with their tiny hands.

A scream caught Shiro's attention, deciding that it was his turn to keep an eye on Pidge, he took the small figure to the hangar. Keeping his eye on Pidge basically meant watching Pidge work on whatever they wanted while he sipped on some space juice in the corner of the room. Pidge would occasionally waddle over and hand him their laptop while cocking their heads to the side. Shiro smiles warmly and ruffles their hair. Pidge pouts from being treated like a child, but then is reminded on their current state.

This goes on for another day. Pidge is tired of constantly banging their head on the corners of tables, being unable to hold tools with one hand, or needing their teammate's help just to sit on a damned chair. Naturally, the team is worried. Pidge current state is not easy to process, and from the analysis provided from the healing pods, Pidge should be free of side effects of the mysterious ray of light that hit them.

It is currently around five in the evening, or at least, it is on Earth. Given that time is determined by the nearest solar system, Lance decides that he'll just follow Earth times. Makes things easier. Also means he doesn't need to change the time on his phone every hour as they enter new galaxies and such. He also doesn't like the fact that Pidge has been napping for two hours.

The Pidge he knows doesn't nap in the middle of the day. When they do, they're either sick, or have pulled twelve all-nighters in a row. He knows Pidge hasn't pulled all-nighters, and although they're sick, he expects a five year old Pidge to be more energetic.

Concluding that this mess was his own fault in the first place, he goes to check on Pidge, despite Keith's "No, you'll just wake them", "leave them alone, they'll be fine" and "stop annoying them because you're bored, Lance." he's still determined to make sure they're actually okay.

The door slides open, and Lance's eyes widen. The figure beneath the sheets is thrashing around, kicking at anything and everything. Whining in pain.

"Pidge!" He calls, he launches forward, only to be kicked in the face. His feet automatically back him up against the wall. He watches as Pidge winces in pain, and tangles themselves in the blankets. He calls for Shiro in desperation, but instead, Hunk answers his call. Both paladins yell for their leader some more, until the kicking and the whining stops.

The only thing cutting the thick silence is Pidge's deep breaths and coughing. Their head pops out of the blanket, all sweaty and chaotic.

"Hey losers. I'm back." They say in-between their panting.

* * *

After Pidge takes a shower, and cleans up the mess their five year old self made in their room, everyone gathers in the common room. All eyes were in awe, and smiling in gratitude that this was all over. Pidge explains that sometime between four to five in the afternoon, the strange stinging sensation returned, and how Lance decided to waltz in the room without checking and witnessed the whole spectacle.

Despite being punched in the stomach by Pidge, Lance eagerly hugged his younger teammate, claiming that he wouldn't know what to do without Pidge. Which was more true than it was false, given how much he really depended on his two friends.

Pidge was thankful that their teammates were patient and were willing to spend time with a five year old version of themselves.

Keith was sure no one heard him when he muttered "You were kind of cute as a five year old." But Shiro snapped his head at Keith, making him repeat his statement.

"Excuse me Kogane? What are your intentions with my little birb" Lance cries, stepping in front of Pidge.

"Pidge was a cute child-"

"And what were you planning to do to Pidge?"

"Nothing!" Keith says, waving his arms around.

"If I catch you-"

"Oh my god, Lance."

"Doing anything suspicious."

"Lance!" Pidge hisses.

"I will not be afraid to…to uh…decapitate you?" Lance finishes lamely. "Hunk back me up here!"

 _Perhaps seeing a five year old Pidge made an impact on them._ Shiro notes.

"One question, Lance" Keith says, "does staying in their room count as suspicious? I mean, it's not like you can comprehend the complexity of conspiracy theories."

"KEITH I'M GOING TO KILL YOU."

The rest of the evening consisted of Lance (and Hunk) chasing Keith around the castle, with Pidge giving Keith directions on where to go and where to hide from the furious blue paladin. However, Keith and Pidge were winning this round, they didn't spend an entire hour looking around the entire castle for nothing.

* * *

 **TO:**

KnightOwl247 : Hah! Same! I'm only shopping when I need new clothes, and I tend to whine after just 20 minutes of shopping! Also, regarding your question - I'm assuming the Blade of Mamora helped them acquire things like new currency. Voltron needs to survive and given that the BoM are there to assist them (and that Keith is a member), they can easily call in a few favours from them (hopefully even if it's domestic stuff like groceries instead of missions).

The Best Guesst : Hey! Haven't heard from you in a while (although now I guess it's the other way around) Awe, I'm sorry that life's been a bitch for you, I'm sure things are gonna calm down soon! Thanks for reviewing! Look forward to hearing from you again.


	11. Of Comic Books and Codenames

#11: Of Comic books and Codenames

Summary:

"You will address me as Eagle 1" Lance flashes a flirtatious smile to the rest of his teammates.

Hunk takes a deep breath, "Lance, please close your mouth before you say anything else."

"Yeah maybe zip the lips together too." PIdge adds.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron - Legendary Defender**

 **A/N: Next chapter is going to take a while. Life just became more difficult since school decided to roll around! Nevertheless, I thank you all for your support! When I see a notif of someone favouriting, following or reviewing I smile like an idiot it's embarrassing. You all are too sweet.**

* * *

 **TIME: 17:02PM - EARTH TIME**

 **LOCATION: DETEA - PLANET**

"I'd be lying if I haven't thought about it! Watch out!"

"Lance, please, I know I gave you the green light for this, but isn't it hard for you? Just refer to me by my given name!"

"No can do! No names on the field! That's the first rule in superhero work!"

"Lance, we aren't superheroes!" Pidge yells at the top of their lungs before hacking a Galra door open. "Ah Shit."

Another wave of attacks - courtesy of Galra sentries - cause Pidge to double backwards to hide behind Shiro.

"Eagle two!" Lance exclaims, positively damaging the red paladin's hearing considering how close the two were standing.

"Lance I swear to god!" Keith grumbles, "what's wrong with just calling us by our _names_?"

 **TIME: 07:28AM - EARTH TIME**

 **LOCATION: LANCE'S BEDROOM**

"Pidge you can't just crawl into my room via vent all the damn time."

"That's the greatest joke of the century." The green paladin retorts. "I'm here because I finished reading The Comics."

Lance's eyes shoot open, the brightest smile present on his face. Pidge is certain it's the same face he made when he got his first astrology book on Christmas when he was five. Pidge doesn't know how much of that was true, but Hunk seems like a reliable source.

"There are over 900 issues," Pidge explains, "and it'll ruin your life." Lance scoffs at the statement. "It's not funny" Pidge snaps, "and I'll send it to you because I don't like the idea of you using my laptop."

Lance gasps, "Pidge, I thought we were friends?"

"Acquaintance seems like the better word."

A knock on the door from a sleepy Keith indicates that breakfast is ready if Lance wants it. The pair walk outside and trail behind Keith to the dining room. Hunk is face flat on the table, and Shiro is helping Coran distribute the food. Allura is yet to be seen, but Shiro predicts she's in the cockpit setting a route for the castle. Coran sits the paladins down before going to look for the princess.

Hunk is stirring, the voice of Lance and Pidge discussing eagerly is something he tends to wake up to every morning back at the Garrison

"-are over so many characters in the series, you practically have to name them with your own nicknames." Pidge says.

"Dude, I'm the best at picking nicknames."

"I don't even know half the names of the crew from the Rebellion. I can't even remember the actual names of Dress Casual Detective, Holmes Wannabe, Discount Winter Solider because the arm, and Alcoholic Gunman." Pidge says, their eyes glued to the pages of said comic on their laptop.

"Ohhh dude, this kid looks pretty cool." Lance praises, "Love his choice of combat uniform."

Hunk blinks dumbly. What are they even talking about. What Alcoholic Gunman? Did they know them? Are they from the Blade of Mamora? They didn't have detectives though...not that he knew of. Maybe Keith would know.

Unfortunately Keith is also looking at the pair like they were insane. Although Keith was accustomed to getting up early and dealing with an extremely giddy Lance, such a pumped Lance at this hour was unholy. His ears were ringing from his squeals and Pidge's rapid-fire explaining of whatever the hell they were looking at. Keith looks over to Shiro, to his surprise Shiro is smiling fondly at the blue and green paladins. Keith's eyes meet Hunk's sleep deprived ones, although tired and seemingly blank, they hold the same confusion Keith's does.

"OH OH OH AND WHEN YOU GET TO ISSUE 179, DUDE, DUDE YOU WON'T EVEN. YOU CAN'T EVEN COMPREHEND WHAT HAPPENS!" Pidge screams with hands gripping in Lance's shoulders, shaking him. Keith scoffs at the sight of Pidge shaking Lance, he looks too much like a limp noodle.

"AND ISSUE 243 IS EVEN WORSE."

"Why is everyone yelling in the morning." Allura raises an eyebrow, Hunk sighs and plants his face on the table once more. Shiro is done with breakfast and he puts the dishes in the sink, he ruffles both Lance and Pidge's hair before nodding to Allura, excusing himself.

Allura looks to Keith for answers, the red paladin shrugs. The princess opens her mouth to ask her youngest (and possibly high) paladins, before a squeal from said Paladins break her trail of thought. Hunk jerks up and falls off his chair, a sharp 'ow!' accompanying the thump. Coran chuckles, "Quite the energetic morning, don't you agree, princess?" Allura only smiles forcibly, and nods uncertainly.

Keith's eye starts to twitch at the loud paladins. _One peaceful morning is all I'll ever ask for…_

"OH AND LONG HAIR BLOND BOND IS JUST THE BEST!"

 _I should've never left that shack._

"And this guy, well, he's a prick but he's one of the good guys. I just call him Cactus™." Pidge explains.

"Cactus?" Lance questions, eyebrow slightly raised and the top left of his lips quirking up ever so slightly, clearly intrigued by his friend's choice of nicknames.

"Yeah. Because he's such a fucking prick. I honestly would not be able to tell the difference between this asshole of a human being and a cactus from the deserts of Cali and Nevada."

"Long hair blond bond?" Keith says, head cocked to the side, "Cactus t-uh-m?" *****

"Hush, Mullet-Man, you will never understand our passions." Lance says with a sort of pride Keith doesn't really recognise.

"Yeah, I really don't understand giving weird nicknames like 'Mullet-man' or 'Cactus t-uh-m'* to other people. Fictional or not." Keith says shaking his head, he pulls Hunk up from his chair and walks out the kitchen.

Lance and Pidge are silent for a moment before both simultaneously open their mouths : "Cactus t-uh-m?"

A roar of laughter sends a chill down Coran's spine - and he's far away from the kitchen. He chuckles and continues cleaning the castle. The paladins of Voltron had always amused him, regardless of which generation of paladins, they all had somewhat similar personalities to his old friends, and yet, so different. Nevertheless, Coran is happy to hear the castle alive with laughter.

 **TIME: 14:24PM - EARTH TIME**

 **LOCATION: COCKPIT**

A distress call was sent from a nearby planet heavily occupied by the Galra. They've taken up almost 80% of the planet, transforming it into some type of base. Allura reckons that it's for gathering raw materials or resources, perhaps a similar situation to what they've done to Shay's Balmera. (Hunk's ears go pink at the mention of a certain balmeran)

Four of the paladins are suited up, waiting in the cockpit for their residential drama queen the one and only, Lance McClain. Allura sighs at Lance's tardiness as Shiro taps his feet rhythmically, as if trying to distract himself. Hunk and Pidge wear similar bored expressions while Keith groans at the absence of their final paladin.

Before Keith can decide whether he should march to Lance's room and drag him out to the cockpit or just try to fly two lions at once, Lance slides in, eyes wide and slightly red. He's wearing the biggest smile on his face and he makes a beeline for Pidge and says "dude. We're practically superheroes."

Allura's head tilts sideways with confusion, if you looked close enough, you would see a seemingly invisible question mark hanging around her head. Shiro closes his eyes and breathes in and out. Keith's right eye twitches.

Hunk sighs, "Lance," he starts, "why were you late?"

Lance smiles "I've just finished issue #52, wow my life is such a wreck, but you know what?"

"Wha-"

"WE'RE PRACTICALLY THE SAME AS THE PROTAGONISTS OF THE SERIES! ALL WE'RE MISSING IS WEIRD-ASS NICKNAMES-"

"Aliases." Pidge clarifies.

"FOR THE FIELD!"

"Field?" Keith repeats. Lance nods enthusiastically.

"Everyone knows rule#1 is no names on the field, duh, Keith."

Pidge sighs and steps up to Shiro, Allura and Keith (and Coran at the back), "I apologise for having the rest of you see Mr McClain at this state of instability, trust me, this is a normal reaction, however I do not have an estimate of how long this would last."

"What were the symptoms?" Shiro asks, playing along, "How did this come to be?"

"Well," Pidge clears their throat, "If you see Mr. McClain seemingly high on oxygen, put him in his room, preferably without technology. What you are witnessing is an aftereffect of a comic book series published on Planet Earth. I have introduced Mr. McClain to said series and now he's high from it. Which is normal, as I have mentioned before. His adrenaline is higher than usual, also expected of, and he may say things that will lower the IQ of the galaxy we are travelling in. Please forgive him, he has little to no self control at the moment."

"I think you mean all the time." Hunk mutters as Lance is clung to his leg.

A gasp is heard from Lance, "I've made nicknames for all of you!"

Pidge groans, "They're called ALIASES."

Lance shakes his head violently, "No, they're nicknames, like you give those characters nicknames! Remember? Dress Casual Detective, Holmes Wannabe, Discount Winter Solider and Alcoholic Gunman! Cactus™ and…and…"

"Long Hair Blond Bond?" Keith offers.

"YES!" Lance shouts.

Shiro decides that they've delayed the mission long enough and sends them to their passageway to their respective lions. Pidge only slightly regrets introducing Lance to The Best Comics Ever In The Universe, but then again, having another fan on a ship of seven people sounds better than none. Keith is overly exhausted, usually he can function properly without sleeping but the thought of dealing with Lance McClain being high on oxygen sucks the life out of him. Hunk is worried about his two best friends. Although he and Lance weren't too close with Pidge, when the two find a common interest, nothing good ever happens. He's surprised that the staff at the Garrison even grouped the three together, because one Hunk isn't enough to control two maniacs that get high on smelling newly unwrapped comic books.

 **TIME: 14:58PM - EARTH TIME**

 **LOCATION: URKSILE - PLANET**

No one finds it surprising anymore when the paladins of Voltron manage to get in an intense battle in a matter of about ten to twenty minutes. It's almost expected of them to pick fights with Galra upon their arrival now.

Lance hasn't been any quieter, he rambles on and on about a series that no one else has any clue about. Occasionally dropping in names like "Discount Batman" and "Was-Chill-But-Then-Wasnt-Chill-Girl". The only two people talking on the intercoms are Pidge and Lance. Shiro is somewhat convinced Keith's hard of hearing or completely deaf now and is just worried Hunk isn't too distracted to fly Voltron into the forest of gigantic trees surrounding them.

Keith tries to get a word in to tell Lance to shut up, but is always cut off or dismissed by the two residential crazed fans. Shiro only sighs at the two Paladins as they bicker back and forth about a comic book series even Shrio himself hasn't heard of. That's near to impossible - not that he'd admit it aloud. The only living being that knows of his secret obsession with graphic novels, superheroes and such is Matt Holt. Only god knows where in the universe he is now.

"Paladins, great job! Could do with less talking, but we've gained ourselves a new ally!" Allura informs.

Shiro internally thanks the fact that he's managed to pull through flying Voltron on his Auto-Pilot mode. He's also very proud that Team Voltron is so in sync he no longer needs to shout orders every two seconds.

 **TIME: 16:35PM - EARTH TIME**

 **LOCATION: DETEA - PLANET**

"The Galra station here isn't as impressive as the one back in Urksile, as Coran debriefed." Shiro reminds. The Paladins are sat in the seating area of the Green Lion. Hunk anxiously waiting for their arrival, hand to hand combat always scares the living soul out of him.

"Hey Pidge," Lance starts, "you know what this planet reminds me of?"

Hunk can practically feel Pidge smirking despite not having a visual on them.

"DETEAR-TION KID!" The blue and green paladin scream in utter synchronisation.

"How did you? Oh...the first half of the name. Yep. Got it." Hunk says lamely.

"For a kid so badass given that he can beat the living shit out of Alcoholic Gunman, DETENTION IS THE THING THAT MAKES HIM CRY? IM WHEEZING." Lance exclaims.

Keith groans and lets his head fall on Shiro's shoulder, Shiro takes this as a cry for help.

"Okay, you two need to set your priorities straight." Shiro says.

"Actually-" Lance starts, but Shiro's deadpanned face cuts him off.

"The mission is our top priority, I can't have any of you being distracted and get hurt. That goes for all of you, by the way."

A chorus of 'yes, dad' is heard. Coran is chuckling at the paladin's reactions on the other side of the intercoms.

"Honestly though," Keith says, voice a little more rougher than usual. Hunk hopes he isn't feeling under the weather - whatever weather is supposed to be on this particular planet. "Why are you so obsessed with making nicknames for fictional people? They're _fictional_."

Lance chokes and sends himself coughing and gasping for air. "YOU!" Lance says, his index finger just 5cm from Keith's forehead, "you don't get to decide what's fiction and what's not!"

"Oh?" Keith challenges. It is now Shiro's time to groan in frustration.

"Yeah! This coming from you? Mr. 'I'd Marry Mothman If I Could'?" Lance says accusingly.

"Enough with the nicknames!" Hunk pleas. Lance mutters a small sorry to his bestie, before turning back to Keith, who is surprisingly silent after Lance's new nickname. Normally he'd speak up about it, or deny Lance's claims.

Oh. _Oh_. Lance knows what's going on.

"I see, okay, _Keith,_ I know what's got your briefs in a twist." Lance says smugly, leaning backwards coolly and folding his arms.

Pidge's "how do you know he wears briefs instead of boxers?" Doesn't go unnoticed as Lance's ears turn pink. His face is unnaturally relaxed though.

"You're just jealous Pidge and I didn't make new nicknames for you!"

Keith splutters, "Why would I ever be jealous of that?"

"Approaching drop off"

"I don't know, but something tells me you want attention!" Lance says, an evil expression gracing itself on Lance's face.

Keith rolls his eyes. Shiro and Hunk exchange glances.

"You guys are gonna get kicked off Green in 5 ticks." Pidge says. The Paladins stand. "4." Shiro makes his way to the opening. "3." Keith takes his place behind Shiro as Lance and Hunk follow. "2." Lance cracks his neck, while Keith his knuckles.

"1."

Helmets on. Door opens. The four Paladins jump, jet packs blazing, the gravity of this planet pulling them down faster than they expected. But the thrill of it made them more alive, maybe except Hunk. The poor guy was screaming.

An idea strikes Lance's brilliant mind. "From now on, we will have codenames. It is crucial for us to not use each other's given name as we are now on the field." _Hunk stops screaming, mission Distract My Best Friend is a success!_ Kinda. "You will all address me as Eagle One." Lance says, flashing a flirtatious smile to his falling teammates.

Hunk takes a deep breath between his panicked panting, "Lance, please close your mouth before you say anything else."

"Yeah maybe zip the lips together too." PIdge adds. "I've parked Green. Hacking into Galra station now."

"Good work, Pidge" Shiro comments.

The Paladins land semi-gracefully. Lance forgot to shut off his jet pack hence falling face first, but he bounces back up within a blink of an eye. They casually stroll around the evacuated town, looking for clues of exactly what this planet used to be. Pidge finishes downloading intel on the nearest station and meets up with the rest of the Paladins.

"Okay, I guess this hut is safe." Shiro says as he locks the door. There place is a mess, papers and withered plants sprawled on the floor. Dust collecting on every other object in sight. The ceiling is a little low, but this hut was the only place inconspicuous enough to hide for now. Pidge debriefs them on the structure of this station, and what it's transporting. Surprisingly it's the food supply for a quarter of Zarkon's ships. The population that used to inhabit the planet have decreased in the last however many years, and intel says they're either slaves or hiding underground (although it fails to specify where).

After Pidge and Shiro have finished giving out the mission details, Lance clears his throat. "I wasn't kidding when I said we should use codenames."

Shiro smiles and pats him on the back. "Sure, Lance. Just...make sure we know who it is you're referring to."

"All right!" Lance says, rubbing his hands together. "You all know I'm Eagle One. My right hand," he says pointing to Hunk, "Been There Done That."

"That's just rude, Lance." Keith says.

"Keith! My buddy, my man!" Lance says, "Currently Doing That." He winks before Shiro and Pidge high five. Keith turns as red as his suit before muttering a soft "fuck you." Hunk smirks at Shiro as the black paladin mouths 'I'll pay you later'

Back on the ship Coran hands over some cheese they'd bought on their last shopping trip to the mice, and returns Allura's confiscated sparkly scrunchie with a sigh. Must Lance do this while everyone was listening? Many of them placed bets and had much to lose!

Coran also makes a side note on reminding the princess when she should and shouldn't be wearing the scrunchie. The rare moon gems could blind a person and wearing such an accessory at a meeting with the Blade of Mamora or a meeting with councilmen of other planets would not be ideal.

Pidge's voice comes through the intercoms "Princess, you owe me a couple of technology stuffs."

Allura sighs, "well it's only fair."

"I can't believe you guys made bets." Keith snaps.

"Oh yes! How could I forget our beautiful princess? Allura, sweetie, If I Had To Pick A Chick." Lance says proudly.

"Gross." Pidge whispers. Hunk giggles. Shiro raises an eyebrow at the blue paladin.

"Coran!" Lance shouts into his mic. The mice and the ginger Altean jump at the sudden volume. "It Happened Once In A Dream."

"Double gross." Hunk says. Keith nods viciously in agreement.

"Pidge!"

"Oh god no." They mutter.

"Eagle Two."

"Oh thank god."

"Okay Number 3, you're playing favourites!" Coran says.

"And finally, _everyone's_ favourite." Lance says pointing to Shiro, "I'd Be Lying If I Hadn't Thought About It." A wink and several groans later. Shiro sighs, the smallest smile evident on his face.

"Okay guys, lets go." The eldest say. The Paladins spring into action.

 **TIME: 21:03 PM - EARTH TIME**

 **LOCATION: CASTLE OF LIONS COMMON ROOM**

"Could you also fetch me a drink? Currently Doing That?"

"No fetch it yourself" Keith says, taking Shiro's cup for a refill of water.

Lance pouts, but returns to scrolling on Pidge's computer. He's proud to admit that he reads faster than Pidge - but that's because he doesn't have as many mental breakdowns or try to calculate whether the comic was realistic enough like a _certain someone_ did. Certain Someone is perched on the couch next to Lance, tinkering with several Altean devices. Lance tried to get Pidge to talk about them but a mention of the codename 'Eagle Two', Pidge's mouth falls shut, pouts, sighs and ignores Lance. They're not mad at Lance though, or else they wouldn't be in such close proximity, and wouldn't let Lance come 20 meters close to their laptop.

"Don't you think we should drop the codenames, Lance?" Hunk suggests.

"I'm not responding to that."

"You just did, ya idiot." Pidge says.

" _Eagle One_." Hunk tries again.

"That's better," Lance says, "and well, I suppose we could since we're not on the field."

"I think he meant permanently." Shiro explains, "Although today's mission was a success, it took us twice the amount of time to complete it. Not all of which was due to the incorrect and confusing codenames, but also because we unfortunately underestimated that station. But also, the codenames confused us all."

Lance pouts at Shiro's statement, but the door slides open revealing Keith, Allura and Coran. Coran holding trays of snacks and nicer tasting space juice. The pout is replaced with a smile.

"Keith, babe, should I drop the codenames?"

Keith quickly exclaims a "YES!" Before following up with "please don't call me babe ever again, I will strangle you."

"Sure babe."

Keith only growls.

* * *

 ***** Keith trying to pronounce TM was inspired by my friend literally reading it as "t-uh-m"

 **TO:**

The Best Guesst : Oh my gosh you're too sweet! I'm glad that everything has settled down for you! Seeing your reviews really makes my day!

KnightOwl247 : I know right? I gotta say, deaging fics are low-key my guilty pleasure.

Star-The-Writer: Thank you!

Guest: Pidge in the vents is also my favourite thing ever, I feel like they'd use it as their form of transport to avoid other humans, and I relate to that a lot.


	12. What's that really metallic smell?

**#12 What's that really metallic smell?**

 **Summary:**

 **Pidge was born a female. Pidge is also a maturing female. You can probably guess what happens next.**

 **(A/N: Would you look at that? It's been almost a month! Thank you all for patiently waiting for another chapter! I do apologise for this decrease in updates. School is _killing_ me! I trust that you all seen Keith's vlog video? I hope I'm not the only one wailing because of the last 20 seconds or so! Anyway, thank you all for waiting, reading, faving/following and reviewing! You're all very much appreciated!)**

 **[ This event is before Keith is revealed to be Galra ; Female pronouns for Pidge. For biological reasons. ]**

 _ **DISCLAIMER - I DO NOT OWN VOLTRON: LEGENDARY DEFENDER**_

* * *

Keith has always trusted his senses, in fact, he's convinced some of his senses are higher than abnormal human being's. Although he doesn't know why he hears further than the rest, see's further, and can smell scents from a distance.p

Normally scents don't bother him too much - he's managed to get used to it - but today he can't stand it. The smell of blood is overwhelmed his senses in the morning, he practically shot up from his bed and raced to the cockpit incase Zarkon was attacking. To his surprise, he was not met with injured teammates, or injured Galra soliders the team had taken for interrogation without his knowledge. Despite the sigh in relief, what if he _missed_ a fight? Although near impossible because even the mice's soft padding footsteps wakes him up in the dead of the night. If Allura screamed his name through the announcement system, he'd surely bolt up with his bayard in hand.

He visited the healing pods next, maybe someone (namely Lance) tripped over something stupid, like air. Maybe he was bleeding a little. Coran would definitely put him in a Pod immediately because 'Paladins should be at top notch state at all times! This is a war, people! Not a play date!' However, Keith was once again met with a low lit and empty room. The Pods were retracted for charging and no one else seemed to be in the room. Keith frowned and decided to hit the training room.

The training room yielded the same results. It was exactly how Keith left it yesterday. Maybe he should pick up his towels before they reek the entire palace. However it's worth nothing that Keith is surprised he didn't catch a scent of the towels considering the foul smell it admitted. This drove Keith a little insane, and a lot of frustration.

Someone in this gigantic maze of a castle is bleeding and he couldn't identify who!

* * *

Meanwhile, Pidge had been going into Lance's room to steal towels to wipe up the mess she woke up to. Early in the morning - before Keith woke up - Pidge had been feeling unwell and couldn't sleep. Her bed felt wet and wet bedsheets were absolutely disgusting. There was this weird sensation at the pit of her stomach that she couldn't really name. Mind you, if she were fully awake, maybe she would've reacted quicker. It was then the increasingly familiar smell hit.

"Shit." She cursed. "I'm on my period aren't I?"

After a lot of fumbling for the lights, and trying not to touch anything with her bloodied pants and hands (possibly), the rook lit up. Her desk was a war zone, and that's saying a lot considering they were fighting a war. Pages scattered everywhere, writing utensils placed messily. Laptop visible on top of the mountain of pages. Blueprints of new gadgets were rolled to the sides, but not exactly neatly placed. Unfinished gadgets lay in a cluster to the right.

Pidge groans at the sight of it.

Her usually green bed was tainted with the bright obnoxious shade of red, with the slightest touch of brown. She groaned even louder, and mouths a silent "what the fuck!" to her innocent bedsheets. How was she to explain _this_? Do Alteans even have periods? Who could she tell? She supposed she couldn't tell Shiro, because, that's just awkward. Also because she absolutely does not want to get the 'birds and the bees' talk (again) from _him_. That'll screw up the team dynamics for sure! Telling Hunk and Lance may be a good choice, but she doesn't want to bother them with her problems. Not to mention, Hunk hates blood. The big guy practically throws up at the smallest sight of it. A bleeding paper cut is enough to make his heart rate increase. And Lance…? She isn't too sure about telling him. Pidge recalls the time Selina Duke told Lance about a crush she had on some really impressive pilot in their year, although Pidge didn't figure out who it was since she couldn't care less about the gossip, but Lance had decided that his mouth shouldn't be sewn shut and told practically everyone by _accident_.

Keyword: Accident.

It's like he forgot it was someone's secret. How does a person of his intelligence do that? Pidge _knows_ Lance has a perfectly working brain, or else he would've flunked at the Garrison, but that careless mouth of his is going around ruining lives. As an apology, he carried her Selina Duke's books around, did 70% of her homework, bought her lunch, and other simple stuff like that. Pidge didn't know the details but she and Hunk became closer because of Lance's constant absence. In summary, he practically became her servant for 6 months.

Back to topic: Pidge doesn't want to risk telling _anyone_. The thought of showing up at the laundry room with a bloody bed sheet may rise suspicions or even accusations, so she _needs_ to figure something out before her team barges into her room like they always do. She knows Keith is a fan of conspiracy theories, he might come up with something impressive, yet problematic to use against Pidge and kick her off the team. Keith seemed to be that kind of person, at least, he was like that in Lance's eyes, and Lance isn't always 100% accurate 67% of the time. Anyway, Pidge didn't know Keith well enough to make such claims. She hopes to get to know him better, majorly to get on his good side because he's scary when he's angry.

Okay, maybe she should focus less on how to get rid of blood - she's sure Keith knows - and put more attention on how to stop the blood. Or at least…not bleed through her uniform. If she'd have known that being flung into space with her best friends and flying giant lions to save the universe was part of her life, then maybe she would've brought some supplies. However, this isn't the case. Pidge realises that she may need to stop by a space mall to get some supplies, maybe stock up that old abandoned closet Coran told her about with a year of menstruation supplies? Yeah, that sounds like a solid plan. As long as she makes it seem haunted, it should keep the boys _out._

 _Oh no,_ Pidge thinks, _I can feel it._ That subtle yet impacting feeling shakes her back to the present reality, where she is still bleeding through her clothes, and the more she contemplates what to do the faster the blood dries, which means it'll be harder to get rid of. _Okay Pidge. Just…think…You're gonna be fine. It's the dead of night, no one's up yet. Figure it out before Allura's wakeup call._

* * *

Keith's land hovers on the switch panel. Pidge went to bed early last night, there's no way the blood could be from her. Unless she woke up and decided to start tinkering in her room, which would lead to her hurting herself...she could be in immense danger! What if the cut was too big and she was bleeding out?

Keith's "worse case scenario" thoughts got to the worst of him, he slams his palm on the tablet, the door slides open revealing a bleeding Pidge holding a ton load of towels.

Keith blinks once. Pidge's eyes widen.

"Uhhh..." Pidge struggles with an explanation, also she's sure Keith's be fine if she just straight up told him about her menstruation cycle. Not weird at all. Especially since she doesn't really know Keith and had only met him because Lance and Hunk decided to sneak out in the middle of the night.

"You're bleeding" Keith says.

Pidge resists the urge to roll her eyes, "Yep."

Keith removes the bloodied bedsheets and towels, then motions her to follow him. Pidge complies with a raised eyebrow, but Keith is seemingly leading her to the bathroom.

 _Okay then._

He fills up the tub at the side and dumps the towels and bed sheet in. Pidge follows suit. The sound of water crashing into the tub fills their ears. The echoing of swishing water (and blood) eases the uncomfortable silence.

"Do you have spare clothes?" Keith asks. Pidge nods and returns to her room, and pulls out the spare clothes from the wardrobe. So Keith wasn't freaking out, which was great, because then it won't be as awkward. Maybe they could view this as a bonding experience? Albeit a weird one, maybe this'll allow Keith to open up a little, given that he willingly helped her. Pidge shrugs at her own thoughts and returns to the bathroom, dumps her clothes in and straightens the new clothes she put on.

"What were you tinkering with that made you bleed your pants?"

Pidge chokes on air.

"What?" She asks.

"I mean, it's kinda hard to just hurt your lower body...unless you were putting the stuff on your lap-"

"No wait, hold up, you think I accidentally stabbed myself?" Pidge clarifies.

Keith tilts his head sideways, "is that not what happened?"

Pidge closes her eyes and inhales "Keith?"

"Yeah...?"

Her eyes open, face blank and utterly _done_ with the amount of bullshit she needs to put up in space. "What the fuck?"

Waking up to the sound of Pidge and Keith bickering wasn't the worst thing to wake up to. At least it wasn't Lance and Keith at each other's throats again. Shiro sighs and gets up from bed, slips on a sweater Coran borrowed him and heads towards the two Paladins.

He slams open the bathroom door and glares at the two people bickering inside one of the most echoing rooms on the castle ship. However he was not expecting a Keith cowering in a corner, and a red-faced Pidge with blood trickling down her legs-wait wait wait.

Blood. Trickling. Down. Her. Legs.

Oh, how Shiro is going to make Matt suffer for leaving his baby sister alone.

He rushes to Allura, passing Lance and Hunk who ask him what the rush was, and whether Voltron was needed. He shouted back a quick "everything's fine!" before frantically knocking on Allura's door.

"Keith how could you have not learnt this in school?"

"I did! I know what _this_ is! I just wasn't thinking just not!"

"I explained it to you and you still panicked?!"

Lance and Hunk share a look of confusion, before deciding to take matters into their own hands. The duo push past the doors to find light trail of blood; Keith sat in the floor, elbows porched on his knees, hiding his face; Pidge with blooding trailing down her legs; a tub of water with a lot of towels (mostly Lance's towels) and a oh yeah, blood.

Hunk quickly excuses himself from the scene, making a beeline for Allura's room. Lance promptly kicks Keith out the bathroom (quite literally) and starts washing the soaked towels as Pidge watches in bewilderment, her face hid behind her hands, fingers parted a little to widen her vision.

Why is Lance suddenly helping her? She expected him to laugh or be grossed out by it like the immature seventeen year old he is, and yet, here he is, abnormally calm and collected. Quite a confounding scene, to be honest.

"Don't worry, _Pidgo._ " Says Lance, out of the blue. "Hunk and Shiro are getting your pads and stuff." He says, "Then I'm going to attempt to make you some nice tea so you're not in too much pain."

Pidge puts her hands down, having explained the effects of the women's moon cycle to Keith Kogane, her face remains flushed with embarrassment.

Allura comes over and tells her Shiro and Hunk have coliseums the situation, she's also voices her surprise at the fact that humans and Alteans have such similar biological cycles. She takes Pidge to her quarters, gives her a couple packs of "Moon Bandages" also known as "Moon-aids" and assures her that they'll stop to stock up on that stuff soon.

Pidge returns to her room with handfuls of pads, plops them in her bedside drawer, and sighs. "Well isn't this fucking dramatic" she mutters.

"Hey, it's not everyday where we get to witness Keith afraid of being shouted at."

Pidge turns to see Hunk with a tray of food and a warm cup of tea. Pidge smiles at the various space cookies present on the tray and takes it gratefully.

"Thanks guys, it's really not a big deal." She says, picking up a cookie and taking a selfish bite from it.

Hunk shrugs, "I think Keith's a little traumatised seeing someone your size bleed and yell at the same time, I mean, he's not _the_ most outgoing guy."

Pidge giggles childishly at the statement. She has to admit, she's a little proud at making the most stubborn person present on the castle speechless.

"Anyway, Lance says he'll handle the bathroom and that if your lower torso hurts, just yell for him and he'll come with hot water bag to ease the pain." Hunk explains. Pidge nods carefully, slowly processing the words coming out of her friend's mouth. "Don't worry about him, he can handle this stuff. Perks of having sisters I guess."

For the rest of the day, Pidge tinkers with alien tech with Hunk. Occasionally Coran would come in with more treats and Lance would drape himself over the newly made and cleaned bed, complaining about Keith being a baby. Keith did come in to apologise, but Pidge simply waved him off, and instructed him to join them. He was hesitant at first, but Hunk had pulled him into the now overcrowded room.

The day was mostly filled with Lance's dumb jokes, simultaneous roll of eyes from Keith and Pidge, and Hunk's attempt to invent new gadgets with occasional comments from Pidge and Lance. At that point Keith had fallen asleep on the floor. Shiro did try to come in once in a while, just to make sure the Paladins didn't try to destroy one another, but their interactions with one another had deemed to be relatively peaceful, except for their yelling from time to time. Shiro is pretty sure he can see a few more dents on the walls as a result of throwing devices at each other, but he'd be a fool to interfere with whatever the rest of the paladins were doing.

Coran swears he's ageing at the speed of sound from taking care of so may people all at once, Shiro can only give him an apologetic smile.

By nightfall of the current galaxy the castle was in, Allura had requested a little 'girl talk'. Pidge dreads it. She drags her legs forward towards Allura's room, groaning at the inessential bonding time. What was wrong with fangirling over technology together?

The mice looked at the grumpy teen with unamused faces, clearly telling her to respect their princess. Pidge apologised, but that did not aid her reluctance to meet the princess. Once she got to the doors of the princess' quarters, she knocks thrice before she let herself in. One thing she notes is how much spacier Allura's room is. Four people and a bunch of tools in _this_ room wouldn't be as much as a problem. Allura spoke with brisk, and was surprisingly hasty during their 'girl talk', something about Hunk telling Allura that "it's not Pidge's thing for girl talks" and Keith saying sentimental stuff like "Pidge has had a long day, she should probably rest" _And Pidge thought that Keith didn't have any feelings._ Allura had also informed Pidge that if she needed to talk to anyone she could always reach out to either herself or Shiro, as "communication is crucial for a team!"

After that Allura sent Pidge on her merry way back, bidding her goodnight and all that, but she came to face another problem leaning on her door.

"What'd ya want, Keith?"

"The smell of blood is overwhelming." He says bluntly.

"Well, the universe be damned, I can't control it." Pidge snaps back. Keith mutters a quick "I knew that" before _commanding_ Pidge to take care of herself, and that he 'does not want to smell her blood unless it's a period'. Pidge figures its just his way of caring for others, it's a little weird, and uncalled for, but it's the thought that counts.

Pidge reaches her room, turns of the lights and dives onto the nicely made bed that Lance decided to make earlier that afternoon. Her eyelids were betraying her, as they attempt to stay open, but only get heavier as the clock ticks by. She supposes sleep sounds like a good idea, given that she didn't have much the previous night.

And then a sharp pain that seemingly tears through her lower torso kicks in.

"SON OF A BITCH!"

("Don't worry Pidge, I got the hot water bags!" Lance screams from a room away.)

* * *

 _Thank you Star-The-Writer, The Best Guesst & KnightOwl247 for your constant reviews! Your comments make me super happy - just thought you ought to know!_

 _Guest with the great idea : I'll add that to the list of one shots I plan to write for this series! Thanks for the idea, and keep an eye out for the updates!_


	13. I said I wouldn't cry!

13: I said I wouldn't cry!

((KL)Angst alert) The team had never seen Keith so vulnerable since they lost Shiro. It pains them to see their new leader broken and shaking with every step he took. Lance couldn't help but think that Keith would've been so different if they had met properly earlier in their young lives.

 _ **DISCLAIMER - I DO NOT OWN VOLTRON: LEGENDARY DEFENDER**_

* * *

Strike. Duck. Pivot left, aim for the torso. Block. Kick. The gladiator bot calculated his moves, he is thrown onto the floor. A grunt. A soft sniff. He's up again, this time directly striking the head without hesitation, letting suppressed emotions loose. He knows it's dangerous, letting emotions cloud his judgement. He takes a step left and strikes the lower back of the gladiator, it falls for a millisecond before counter attacking. He groans in frustration, and twirls his bayard around, loosening his previously tightly clenched fists. Two steps forward, one side step to the right, strike on the knee, the bot stumbles and swings itself back up, he blocks the attack before using the kneeling bot as a lift off. The bot takes a solid roundhouse kick to the head.

The light emitted from the gladiator core dims, a hole forms on the floor.

"Wait wait, no, what? Continue level!" Keith shouts, but they go seemingly unheard. The anger build up again, memories he's tried to forget resurface again. He groans in frustration, and blinks through tears, "look, Allura, I know you think I'm incapable of completing Altean levels but-"

"Ouch! Mullet-head."

Keith's eyes widen, and then proceeds to wipe the tears threatening to fall. His breathing is heavy, not from the training but from his heart seemingly clenching at the sound of Lance's voice. Lance shouldn't see him right now, not like this. He's too much of a mess, and he can't let this affect the team. It's his own problem, he'll find a way to solve it without dragging anyone else in. His inability to lead like Shiro once had already affected the team, and increased Voltron's vulnerability.

A part of Keith believes it's something else though. All the times he let down his concrete walls and allowed literally _anyone_ in his life...they'll disappear without a trace. He'll be alone, abandoned and hurting again, and again, and again, and he doesn't want to feel that way anymore. But Lance? He keeps trying to tear down concrete walls with nothing but bare hands, keeps fighting fire with nothing but a tray of ice, keeps giving until the receiving end is content. Keith doesn't know how Lance manages to stay alive, given his idiotic choices...but, Keith's thankful he got to know someone like Lance.

"Didn't think you'd snap at Allura, but guess I was wrong." Lance says, striding carefully towards him.

Another thing, so many other people treat Keith like an unmovable boulder, say and do things without thinking Keith _does have emotions too_ \- he just doesn't show them. Lance? He dances around Keith like he's made of glass, he's careful with his choice of words, he knows when to stop when the glass starts the fracture.

Lance cares.

In fact, his whole team cares...which is overwhelming for Keith, because he's never needed anyone to care for him. Or at least, he never thought he did.

Shiro was the only person who gave a crap about his wellbeing, and occasionally Matt Holt during the limited minutes he had with him. Shiro knows when to back off, when to give him space, and in all honesty, Keith appreciates him. Lance, on the other hand, doesn't give two shits about personal space, and oddly enough, Keith doesn't mind it that much. Sure, in the beginning the lack of space from Lance got on his nerves all the time, but now that it's become a constant in his life, he probably won't know how to live without it.

A life without an annoying Lance was suddenly unimaginable.

"Look, buddy." Lance starts, Keith realises he's been staring for too long, and immediately looks downward. Has that crack on the floor always been there? "I know you need space and you like being alone but...just remember that we're always here for you. I'm always gonna be stuck in this castle with you, okay?"

Keith takes a step back. He can feel the walls crumbling, he could feel a drill in his heart threatening to make an empty hole in his soul, he could feel tears drops on his eyelashes, he could feel...

Lance's arms around him.

"Its okay, Keith. You may be half-Galra... but you're still human, and crying is part of being human."

He drops his bayard and clutches onto Lance, hands shaking as he buries his head on the crook of Lance's neck.

Screw the walls he built up, screw his stoned and frozen heart, screw everything. He forgets his mental policies about interaction and holds onto Lance like he's the only thing worth holding onto - and maybe at this point Lance is the only thing keeping him sane.

Lance did not expect this reaction from Keith. Although he thought Keith would just yell at him or threaten him to go away, he still wanted to try comforting him anyway. He had only seen Keith so vulnerable once, and that was when the team lost Shiro, and at the time, no one could really grasp the situation. To see Keith visibly shaking and mentally torn apart reminded him how human Keith was, and that…maybe, just maybe, Keith was bottling up his emotions…something Lance knew all too well.

He couldn't bear to see Keith's usually bright and competitive eyes be tired, clouded, and lifeless. He knew Keith was under immense stress already due to having to lead Voltron, and he couldn't just sit and watch as Keith destroyed his soul by trying to not feel anything. Lance admits that he feels foolish for thinking Keith "doesn't have emotions", when in reality, emotions are the things crushing him, Keith is only seemingly emotionless this way because he feels too much.

Lance is surprised when Keith drops his bayard, he is even more taken aback when Keith voluntarily launches towards him, deepening the hug. Lance's arms awkwardly snake themselves around the current Black Paladin's waist, before reaching up to cradle Keith's head. Keith holds Lance tighter, closer, he clings onto Lance, and for the first time in a considerably long period of time, Lance feels important.

Lance doesn't know when Keith had started putting his faith and trust in him - not that he's complaining though - but this just means he's done something right, he's valuable to the team, and that maybe his place is right next to Keith's. His sobs echo around the training deck, and each tear shed only manages to pierce Lance heart. But this is good, this is healthy. Keith's can't deal with everything on his own, and if this helps Keith, then to hell with everything else. Lance will act as the shoulder to cry on, Lance will help lighten Keith's pain, because it breaks him a little when he hears Keith's shuddering breaths, when he see's Keith's hands twitch anxiously, when Keith refuses to dine with the team and refusing to sleep.

Lance _hates_ seeing Keith with dark eye-bags and taking lifeless steps around the castle. Lance _hates_ when Keith skips dinner and goes to train instead. Lance _hates_ not knowing the Keith's reasons for distancing himself with others sooner, because if he had known earlier on, maybe Keith wouldn't be crying his heart out in his arms. If only Lance could've fixed Keith earlier, then maybe Keith would be less skeptical of literally everyone they meet. He could've brought brightness to Keith's life before they left their solar system, their earth, their home.

Keith's head lifts up, and he wipes his tears with the back of his hand. He pats Lance's chest awkwardly and sucks in a breath. "Well...that was...yep, good talk." He says. The current Black Paladin turns to pick up his bayard with a sigh, before heading out of the training room. His hand hesitates to open the door, it hovers for just a millisecond, but he sighs and opens it anyway.

Lance remains. Love-struck. Lance knows falling in love at this rate is dangerous, but then again, "danger" seems to be Keith's middle name, if anything is dangerous, it's not love, but Keith himself. Despite it all, Lance loves him anyway.

* * *

Hunk and Pidge pick up on the sudden shift in the atmosphere. The usually gloomy Keith sending threatening glares at everyone has a softer facial expression. The usually giddy and almost always overexcited Lance suddenly has control over his energy. When Lance is around Keith, he tones down the excitement. Not to mention, when Lance approaches Keith, their leader smiles instead of growls.

Pidge sets down their glasses, lifting the hem of their shirt to clean them. "Hey Hunk,"

"Hm?"

"30 bucks says Klance is dating." Pidge says.

"Um, Pidge, that's already a statement." Hunk replies, his attention still focused on the small shower he's putting together for the mice.

"So we're not placing bets then? How bout with Shiro?"

Hunk stops for a moment, and his eyebrows knit together. "Allura." He says, "And Coran." Pidge tilts their head sideways slightly at Hunk's words. "They're too dense to know." He explains, "Plus, Shiro has a major headache right now, better to not bother him". Pidge springs up and dashes to the two Alteans as Hunk smiles and shakes his head. Coran and Allura will soon owe them a day of shopping for mechanics.

On their way to Allura and Coran, Pidge spots Lance and Keith just sitting in the common room. Keith's shoulders are relaxed, well, at least it's not as stiff as whenever he needs to step up and lead Voltron. Lance's attention is entirely fixed on Keith, with that loving smile etched on his face. If this was anyone else, Pidge probably would told them to close the door or _something_ , but seeing that content expression on Lance's face could only make their heart soften. It wasn't everyday they saw Lance the way he is now, so relaxed and unconcerned about his appearance. Although Pidge noticed how Lance seemed to hide himself away by building this new character for himself, they never approached him about it, it wasn't their place to. Pidge remembers Hunk mentioning how Lance was struggling to find himself during their Garrison days, and that was something Lance needs to do for himself. Although Lance quickly jumped to the scene to shut Hunk up, Pidge got the message.

So Keith was good for Lance, surprisingly. But at the same time, it was expected.

Pidge leaves, they've been staring for too long anyway. Lance's eyes shift towards the door and catches a glimpse of green.

Keith notices Lance's sudden stiffness and looks to the paladin, "Lance, why is your face so red?"

"NOTHING."

* * *

Hunk notices that Keith is eating a little more than before. At least he wasn't just picking at his food for three minutes before deciding to finally put it into his mouth. Lance, however, has become picky at _his_ food, pouting when Allura forces him to finish this new blue food goo that Coran managed to purchase on their last trip to a market. Lance only whines at Allura like a five year old child, earning playful glares from Pidge.

A week ago, Keith would've sighed and grumbled before excusing himself for training. Now? He just picks up Lance's plate and eats half of his leftovers, leaving the Alteans in shock.

"I've done half the wrk, now. Finish it, or else you'll never be on my level of combat." Keith declares.

Lance gasps and immediantly starts finishing the food goo. Keith props his elbow on the table and rests his chin on his hand, hiding a smirk behind his ungloved fingers.

Hunk can count with his fingers how many times he's seen Keith legitimately happy. He knows Keith's superficial smiles to his real ones, it's too easy to pick out. Now, his eyes are brighter, a glint of amusement and, dare Hunk say it, love, are present in the previously cold and unapproachable eyes.

The yellow paladin always thought that Keith was missing the element of unpredictability, perhaps Lance would fill that missing piece in Keith's life.

Coran swears that without having the team with him at all times, the blue paladin would probably end up dead.

The child had once again forgotten to bring his towel to the shower rooms, and Allura has told him not to try to run across the castle naked, while covering parts with his dirty clothes. He proceeds to do so anyway. Coran knows Pidge has "secured" that footage onto their laptop for "future use", whatever that may mean.

Coran was lucky enough to have run into Keith, who was about to grab a non-ironed towel for his use. The Altean swatted his hand away, before tossing a warmer and neater towel onto his head.

"Get these to Lance please, Number 4! I'm tired of running so many of the same errands for that boy." Coran said jokingly, thrusting a pile of freshly dried and ironed towels at the black paladin.

Keith learned that day that Lance needed two towels to dry his body instead of one…who in the universe needed _two_ towels for _one_ body? (Lance, apparently.)

Coran was expecting a strange look from Keith, or at least some form of reluctance to helping Lance. To his surprise Keith just nodded and walked out the room.

Perhaps Coran had misjudged him…although, it was hard to identify what the paladin was thinking nowadays. He must admit, even his own thoughts were slightly wonky lately. Too much has happened in such a short amount of time, the paladins lacked the time to figure out their emotions.

He wouldn't blame them for feeling numb or confused at things. They were children thrown into an unfortunate war. But they are great warriors - he best he's ever known.

Keith couldn't decide what was worse, having to deliver this stuff to Lance while visibly blushing and running into Shiro by accident, or having to see Lance partially naked in the corridors.

Unfortunatley both things happened simultaneously. Shiro immediantly turns around and speed-walks back to his room. While Lance coughs awkwardly, mumbling an "oh my fucking god this isn't happening."

Lance hates how it's suddenly too hot, his skin feels like it's burning, and his heart is pounding at the speed of light - he hopes this kills him - but Keith only wraps a towel around Lance's body, and drapes his bathrobe around the towel. He then takes the belts and ties it around Lance's overly skinny waist. Keith also plops a smaller towel onto Lance head, the soft smirk on Keith's face manages to make Lance's heart speed up even more.

"This is the first time you're quiet, Lance." He says.

"This is the first time you're being cheesy, mullet." Lance retorts.

"I wasn't being cheesy, I just stated a fact."

"At least you didn't use the word 'speechless', because that stuff only belongs in movies."

Keith laughs a little, removing that three thousand pound stone living in Lance's easily fractured heart.

They walk to their respective rooms in silence. Ignoring the fact that Pidge is probably watching via surveillance or in the vents.

They reach Lance's door, Keith opens his mouth to say something, but nothing really comes out.

"Thanks, Keith." Lance says, "for the towels and stuff, you really saved my ass back there. Allura would've totally make me spar with her again because I've forgotten to…um…yeah. Thanks, buddy." All of a sudden the floor seems very intriguing to Lance, has that black mark always been there?

"Thank you, Lance."

Lance's head shoots up.

"For…being there…for, um, for the team" Keith lamely finishes. _For taking care of me._ "You're a good teammate." _I couldn't have done all this without you._ "I underestimated my own _abilities_ , and mainly underestimated you, Lance."

 _I think I've fallen for you, Lance._

Lance smiles, Keith's eyes widen as he quickly says goodnight and closes Lance's door before Lance had the chance to say anything in return.

Lance, staring at his closed door, has an expression of total shock. If he's translated Keith Language correctly, then that prick just confessed to him. There's no way he did though, he's _Keith_ for god's sake. He's as dense as the heart of a black hole.

But that fluttering feeling does not leave Lance. That giddy feeling Lance has only heard about from his sister when she talks about her fiance, the feeling his padre

describes when he tells the story of how he met his mama, the same feeling Lance felt when he first saw Keith training at the Garrison.

Lance can only hope this isn't only in his head, that he hasn't overanalysed things like he always does.

* * *

Keith races to his rooms and locks the door.

That was too close. This is a war. There's no time for feelings. There's no time to explore what _love_ feels like. They're in the midst of a war that could destroy the entire known universe, and they're it's only hope.

There is no time for fickle things like love.

Now is not the right time to see Lance as any more than a teammate. He's going to just have to be Keith's right hand man, and nothing more…despite how much pain that gives Keith, he can't put his own selfish desires over his team, over the universe.

Everyone is counting on Voltron, and he can't risk anything, especially Lance. Not right now. New threats have arisen, he can't lose anything else.

That night, Keith slowly rebuilds the walls he's been hiding behind. A part of him hopes it's stable enough, the other hopes Lance could come and take down that wall one brick at a time, again.


	14. October 23

**23 / 10**

In honour of Keith's birthday, here is an one-shot of how the team celebrates the day of Keith's existence.

(also posted as a seperate fic)

 ** _Disclaimer - I do not own Voltron : Legendary Defenders_**

* * *

 **22:13 PM - EARTH TIME**

Keith gets a call from Lance, saying that Shiro wants him on the Castle of Lions that night. Keith raises an eyebrow at the sudden demand.

"Please Keith? Everyone misses you…we don't get to see you often anymore. I swear, even the mice miss you and they usually hate your guts."

Keith sighs and nods, "I'll see you in half an hour."

Lance beams and switches the communicator off. Keith closes his eyes and lets out a deep breath, his whole body is sore and he thinks he may have fractured something? He wasn't sure. Plus, he wasn't really welcomed onto the ship the last time he went back. He understands the team's feeling of betrayal completely, but what other choice did he have?

 **22:49 PM - EARTH TIME**

Pidge, Matt and Hunk are waiting for Keith at the loading docks. Matt jumped in excitement upon hearing Keith's arrival. He hasn't heard about Keith in ages, his name was thrown around during the Garrison days, and Shiro would sometimes mention his brother figure while on the Kerberos mission, but he hasn't really gotten to know him. That almost-stunt Keith pulled during the attack on Noxela ( **A/N: I have no idea how to spell it I'm so sorry)** nearly gave Matt a heart attack…the worst part is that the paladins don't know who they could've lost that day. Keith made Matt keep it a secret, he didn't want the other to worry, they've already got too much on their hands, and Keith didn't want them to be distracted from their mission as Voltron.

As a Blade spaceship pulled up Pidge and Hunk recklessly raced towards it. Matt could only smile at the sight. A figure clad in black and purple emerged and was immediantly tackled by the two eager paladins. The usually composed and stern-faced Keith was smiling so much his cheeks started to hurt. Declarations of love and friendship occurs ("WHY DID YOU LEAVE FOR SO LONG?" "YOU COULD'VE TEXTED US" "KEITH WHY ARE YOU SUCH A LONER, I MISSED YOU") before Keith shot Matt a look for help. The rebel jogged over and forcefully pulled Pidge off of Keith, PIdge grumbles and hisses at Matt while the older Holt only sticks his tongue out at them. Hunk clings onto Keith, with tears streaming down his face, as the paladin-now-turned-mamorian dragged himself towards Matt.

"Nice to finally meet you in person, Kogane." Matt says, hand outstretched for a handshake. Keith takes it, smiles and manages a soft "Likewise." before Pidge crashes into him again.

"I SWEAR KEITH IF YOU EVER LEAVE FOR THAT LONG AGAIN I'M GOING TO KILL YOU."

 **22:58 PM - EARTH TIME**

Upon seeing Keith's arrival, Coran ushered 'Number 4' to sit down in the lounge. He noticed Keith's overly tired form, and how he seemed to be wincing a little from time to time. Coran will have a stern talk with the Blade of Mamora for making one of his boys suffer like that. Hunk excuses himself to fetch milkshakes, allowing Matt and Keith to get to know one another as they would be working side by side in the near future. Or at least, they hoped they would.

Pidge quickly sneaks off to get Lance, who is no doubt either playing that one video game, or in the middle of his facial treatment. They did not expect Lance to be pacing in him room, nose scrunched up and eyebrows furrowing occasionally. He opens his mouth to say something to the wall, before closing and pacing again. Pidge bets Lance didn't even notice their trespassing.

"Lance."

Pacing. More pacing, a soft hum, but not directed to Pidge.

 _"Lance."_

"HAPPY BIRTHD-oh it's just you."

Pidge tilts their head, a sly smirk growing on their previously confused face. "Are you practicing to confess? Loverboy-Lance?"

Lance's already reddened ears give away, but he denies the accusation. "Just startled" he says, "I didn't even hear the door open!" he says, "I though Keith was here to sulk in my room!" he realises the last excuse was a little bit of a stretch.

"Who cares, Keith's here. Go say hi to your crush." Pidge deadpans before closing the door. Lance sighs. He won't admit it, but he's been a little lonely without Keith. He knows he's got Hunk beside him, and Allura and Shiro are here whenever he needs them, plus, Matt is an addition. But something was missing…a certain hot-headed mullet wearer's absence was bothering Lance, and to have him back is amazing, but also terrifying.

What if Keith decides to leave again? To be fair, Lance is certain Keith is going to leave again, but he doesn't want to see Keith's back facing him anymore, he doesn't want to see Keith clad in purple and black and wincing every step he takes. He just wants Keith back here with the team, is that too much to ask?

 **23:02 PM - EARTH TIME**

Shiro and Allura have been notified of Keith's return, both paladins raced to the lounge and wrapped their friend in a suffocating hug.

"Shiro, okay, Shiro please, my fracture is going to get worse, _please._ "

A series of apologies later, the team were sat together exchanging stories of events that took place during Keith's absence. Keith's smile wavers a little, but he's happy that the team are in their top shape, and share an incredible bond. He could've never achieved that.

 **23:35 PM - EARTH TIME**

Lance finally decides to make an appearance, Shiro scolds him lightly about how long it took him to realise Keith was back. Lance only pouts at his leader before waving awkwardly at Keith, Keith smiles anyway before taking too big of a sip from the milkshake, resulting in a brain freeze. Shiro laughs at Keith's hunched over shoulders and tightly closed eyes and begins retelling the story of how Keith shoved a whole ice cream into his mouth on a dare once. Matt doubles over, laughing, he's heard this story before, and he himself tried recreating it for the sake of it.

Keith growls and attempts to cover Shiro's mouth with his hands, but alas, he is no match for Shiro's metal arm. "So yeah, he stuffed the entire ice cream into his face, _just because some kid taunted him,_ and then got a major brain freeze. Stayed in bed for the rest of the day because his head was hurting so much."

"I can't believe you're older than me, Keith." Hunk laughs.

"It's not like you don't do it!" Keith attempts to defend.

"Yeah, but I don't get brain freezes like _that."_

Keith pouts slightly, which causes Allura to giggle. "Gosh, I've missed you and your grumpiness, Keith." She says, "I wasn't able to perform my best Keith because I've nearly forgotten your grumpy face." she ruffles his hair as he raises an eyebrow at the statement.

"Your best _Keith_?" He asks.

Shiro freezes up, "Let's drop it."

"No, no, no, this is interesting, Shiro why don't you tell the story? Since _you like telling stories so much?_ "

 **23:50 PM - EARTH TIME**

After a whole night of pure laughter, they call it a night. Upon seeing his bed, Keith plops down on it face first, and groans upon the unpleasant feeling in his left arm. Probably a minor fracture, nothing too serious.

He stays like that for a while.

Although they were laughing and everything was seemingly normal…something was off about the atmosphere. Of course, the addition of Matt Holt was quite the change in environment, but Shiro was a little off as well. Lance was remotely quiet for some reason, and Allura suddenly warms up to him. Pidge and Hunk kept sharing glances from time to time, and not knowing the reason behind such changes bothered Keith _a lot._

Was it because he changed? Were they forcefully laughing for the sake of his return? Did they find out about his plan of sacrifice?

No, judging by their reactions, Matt probably didn't tell them.

But something was up. His inability to deduct the reason for it urges him to just go to the training room and spar with a gladiator bot, like before. Old habits die hard, anyway.

He glances at his makeshift phone Pidge and Hunk made him.

"11:54 pm…This is way too early for bed." Keith mutters. He sighs and sits up, hands playing with the bedsheets and blanket. He missed his bed, though he wasn't the type to have emotional ties with inanimate objects, but he did miss the environment here.

The Blade of Mamora were intense. Mission after mission. No time for friendship, the people you worked with weren't friends, they were just business partners and nothing more. No emotions required for all tasks, in fact, they were discouraged.

It was so different from Voltron, where everything had to do with relationships with the team and the lions. Where leaving someone behind wasn't an option. Where he had people to talk to, people to care about, and people who cared about him.

He let his mind wander back to his near death experience. He wonders what Shiro's reaction would be if he heard about it. His heart starts hammering in his chest when he imagines their broken faces if he had went through with that plan, if Lotor wasn't there. He knows it wouldn't be fair to them but this was a war, it was either _knowledge or death._

 **00:00 - EARTH TIME**

Three knocks on his door. His face is planted in his pillow as he lets out a muffled, "Come in."

The person on the other side doesn't. He groans, gets up, and walks towards the door. A crunching sound is heard and his eyes widen. He looks down at his feet.

Some dumbass left him a note. He bets it was Lance.

 _"Dear Keithy-boy,"_

Keith raises an eyebrow at the piece of paper with nothing but three words written on it. He flips it over, but there's nothing on the other side. The texture felt weird though…like there was previously writing on it but someone got rid of it. It smelt like strawberries, Keith realises. Oh. He knows that this is.

He takes his makeshift phone and shines UV light on it.

 _"Oh so you are as smart as they say you are! Good job, Mullet. Word of advice: Stay out of the vents."_

Keith mouths a 'what' to the letter before tucking it into his pocket and opening the vent entrance. Anything Lance says, he'll do the opposite. It's basic knowledge that Lance almost always means the opposite to what he says, anyway.

He crawls in, it's a little awkward for him since he doesn't have Pidge's build, but its nothing too uncomfortable. He smiles to himself as he remembers the time he and Lance had to work together in the vents. A pang in his chest tells him that he might never be able to do that again.

Soon enough, he finds a green arrow taped on one of the surfaces of the vents. It points downwards. Keith shrugs and slides down without second thoughts. Another arrow guides him to walk forward, and another one turns left, the next one goes downward again, and the one after that goes right.

 _"SO KEITH HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE LONELY IN A VENT WITHOUT ANYONE TO VENT_ TO _?"_ Pidge's handwriting. Keith chuckles at the note. _"I bet you can't find your way out because you've been gone too long. Serves you right for leaving us alone in the middle of vast nothingness for so long :((((((("_

Keith removes the tape from the note and pockets it, before searching for the closest way out from his current position.

 **00:11- EARTH TIME**

Keith ends up in the kitchen. There are two drinks on the table, one a dark shade of blue, with an ominous glow, and the other is a gold-like yellow that reminds him of tea from Earth.

Two pieces of paper taped to the counter, it reads:

 _"We noticed you wincing, you stubborn jerk. Drink the blue stuff, idiot."_ Lance. Obviously. No matter how he tries to cover his handwriting by using a red marker, Keith will always know Lance's handwriting.

 _"The yellow stuff is tea. YES YOU HEARD ME RIGHT - TEA. You were saying you missed tea the other…other day, when you were still aboard this ship. So we got some! You were kinda gone when we picked it up from the space mall though, but here's some of that good stuff anyway."_ Hunk, no doubt.

He downs the two cups of liquid, with a fond smile on his face. Whatever prompted team Voltron to do this was beyond his area of knowledge. But he'll play along.

Another note was taped on the door. Well, it was more of a diagram, or a children's drawing of the Green Lion. Keith picks up the note and makes his way to the hangar. He racks his brain at the possible reasons for the team doing this, but nothing came to mind. Why had Shiro allowed the team to waste time on this anyway? Shouldn't they be planning for another attack on the Galra? Or set a course to liberate more planets?

Either way he pushed his thoughts aside for now, and focused on the task at hand. Speaking of hands, his possibly fractured left hand feels a little better. He makes a mental note to thank Coran and Lance later (there's no way Lance would've known the blue stuff had healing properties).

A yellow smiley face and a wonky smirking face with glasses were taped on the control panel of the Green lion's hangar. He lifts the paper up and turns on the lights. On the table were a series of weapons, calling to Keith with a muted red glow, Keith jaw almost dropped.

 _"We thought you might want to take some with you! - Matt and Hunk."_

Keith hesitates to pick up the weaponry, afraid that it'd crumble at his touch. Almost as if he's unworthy to use such carefully constructed weapons. Instead of pocketing the weapons, he pockets the note. He'll bring a bag for the weapons later.

A green arrow on the wall tells him to enter the vents (again). He obliges.

 **00:20 - EARTH TIME**

He makes his way to the training room. The gladiator bots were kneeling on the floor, he wonders if this is part of the journey he's been on for the past twenty minutes or so, or whether the last person forgot the clean up. However, a piece of card with pink writing catches his eye.

 _"Thank you for making us stronger."_

The way the A's were done means this one's from Allura. He glances at the kneeling gladiators before realising they were actually bowing. He allows himself to stay here for a while, and to smile at the scene.

"I really should be thanking you…" He mutters.

He takes a good look at the training room. He's almost remembered every single detail of this room, but now that he's been away from it so long, training here seems to be a distant dream of sorts.

Weirdly enough, the memory that comes up in his mind is team Voltron's first training session with the gladiator bots - a disaster, and the team sitting on the floor, sipping on space-juice boxes - also a disaster because Allura came in and handed their asses to them.

He notices a blue arrow pointing to the exit. He follows.

 **00:22 - EARTH TIME**

Ending up in Red's hangar wasn't really expected. However Keith catches the note taped to Red's nose several feet off the ground. He hoists himself up Red and reaches for the note at the edge of Red's nose.

A sigh of relief echoes as he finally un-tapes the note. He sits himself on Red's head - he's sure she doesn't mind - and starts reading.

 _"I swear this was what Red told me to write._

 _'Happy Birthday, paladin. It has been long since I last saw' felt? I'm kind of unsure 'you. I hope you are doing well in your training. I understand your reluctance to leave, but I am proud of your choices. Our bond will never be broken for as long as you live, young paladin. You embody the values and traits I admire and aspire to become, thank you for giving me the opportunity to fly with you. Thank you for your hard work. Voltron misses you, Paladin Keith.'_

 _I hope you're tearing up, Keith, because I sure am."_

A sad smile finds it's way onto his face. He pats the metal underneath him.

"I miss you too, buddy."

 **00:30 - EARTH TIME**

The black arrow Keith's been following points to the central control area. A dim glow emits from the gaps of the door. Hushing sounds can be heard from the other side. Keith's eyebrows knit together as he carefully pushes the door open.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

In the centre of the room was Shiro holding what Keith assumes is Hunk's handmade cake. Lance is stood on Shiro's right, as Pidge stands on his left. Hunk and Allura are in their respective positions when they form Voltron. Coran and Matt come up form behind and pushes him towards the team, gentle smiles on their faces.

"Happy 19th Birthday, Keith." Shiro says ruffling Keith's hair, the way he used to when they were just kids.

Keith notices tears welling up in his eyes. He understands now. It's the 23rd isn't it? He can't believe he's forgotten his own birthday.

"You're old, Keith." Pidge comments.

"We wanted to push this whole thing earlier, since we're technically like…thirty minutes late. The cake came out later than expected and we still needed the icing and all that stuff. That's why we kind of…sent you in circles." Hunk explains, "Plus, Coran said you may have hurt yourself and so we fetched out some weird Altean healing herbs and made nice tea for you!"

"You really need to start taking care of yourself, Keith! What would we do without you." Allura scolds lightly.

"Yeah, Keith. We need you as much as the universe needs Voltron." Lance adds.

They spend the morning of the 23rd snuggled together in the control room, eating cake surrounded by the views of a seemingly unreachable space. Hunk's idea. The team, however, claims that it was a team-bonding exercise.

"Did you like the weapons?" Matt asks, Keith nods eagerly, Shiro was sure he saw a glint of fascination in Keith's tired eyes.

"The tea worked right?" Coran shouts from across the room, as he brings Keith a whole bottle of that stuff.

"Is this really okay? Isn't this made from ancient Altean herbs? I could just spend-"

"If you think I'm going to let you spend your birthday in a POD, then you are very wrong, number 4."

That shuts him up.

Shiro puts an arm round Keith and leads him to a window. "Not long ago I would've given everything to be able to be in space," he says, "but now that I'm here…I realised that back then…I left you all alone. Lance told me you got kicked out of the Garrison a while after Kerberos went missing. I'm sorry I let you worry, I'm sorry I was the reason you got kicked out."

Keith shakes his head, "No. Zarkon was the reason. Even though we didn't know about him back then…but I got kicked out for a good reason. Plus, it allowed me to find Blue, and assemble Voltron."

Shiro smiles, "I'm really proud of you, Keith. I guess you're no longer that kid looking for fights in the alleyways." he pats Keith's head teasingly.

"I never actively picked fights!"

Shiro only laughs.

"YOU GUYS TRY THIS CAKE IT'S AWESOME" Matt squeals.

Lance complains that Shiro's been hogging Keith and pulls Keith back into the pile of blankets and pillows. Keith really misses seeing his team smile the way they are now, there's no sadness, no worrying about their next move, but just carefree teenagers (and a few adults) that appreciate his existence. He realises that all this was more than a token of their friendship.

This is family.

The thought of finding a family never crossed Keith's mind, but he's found it. This makeshift family of rebels, aliens and space cat robots. He'll take it.

* * *

 **Thank you all for reading, faving/following and reviewing my work! Not only does it make me happy, but it truly motivates me to keep writing! Also, feel free to put prompts in your reviews and I'll try my best to fit them in the lineup!** **Thank you!**

 **Also, I realise I forgot to reply to some of your reviews (SORRY!), so I'm going to do them now:**

Star-The-Writer : I'm sure Lance has too much experience from the yelling. And I really love the idea of Lance just treating Pidge like his own sister. Is it selfish of me to want to see more Lance and Pidge interaction?

The Best Guesst : (sorry I'm reply to two reviews at once) Keith has minimal human interaction and given his awkward character, I bet he lacked the knowledge of how to deal with women of periods. Much like you, I was screaming the whole time during Keith's vlog. I'm sorry I made you cry! But I'm glad you enjoyed it! Also, you need to sleep more, we can't have you falling asleep while walking somewhere, now can we? Unfortunatley, I have yet to watch Doctor Who (It's surprising, I know right?) But I still checked out your story, and recommended it to friends! Thank you for your support and constant reviews! It's literally like sunshine on a cloudy day for me.

KnightOwl247 : I agree, Lotor has the best hair. Lance needs to up his hair-game, and Klance needs to become canon.

Guest: Thank you for reviewing! I'm sorry I tore your heart out! (don't worry though, I broke mine alone the way so we're all on the same boat)

ADemonInATeacup: Thank for reading and reviewing! Feel free to suggest anything you want to see/read happen!


	15. Magnets?

#14: Magnets

Upon landing on a new planet, Shiro finds that his cybernetic Galra arm grows heavier every step he takes.

 **A/N: SO, it's been a while. Sadly, I must admit that my writing pace has deteriorated lately. With school trying their best to drain me of my energy and motivation to get out of bed, chances to actually sit down and write without a care have decreased. Sorry for the long wait and thank you ALL for your constant support! (I honestly don't deserve you guys)**

(PRE SEASON 3)

* * *

"Shiro you have to try to get up."

"Pidge, I don't think you understand."

"Just get rid of the arm. We'll make it into a weapon."

"Pidge! Don't say that!"

"It's okay, Hunk. I'm okay."

"Shiro, you're everything but okay, can you even stand?"

"Keith, I'm fine, really. As soon as Coran figures out what's up with this planet's gravitational pull, I'll be free as a bird."

"I don't think we need-"

 _"Lance, please."_

"It's so obvious? What the cause is, Shiro, we have to detach"

"I'M NOT LOSING MY ARM _AGAIN."_

O.o.O

They wait patiently for Pidge to set up a temporary anti gravitational system onto the planet, just for approximately three ticks. Any more than that may cause extreme disturbances to the planet itself. Hunk and Lance try to adjust Shiro's awkward position as well as decrease the distance between him and the black lion.

Three ticks wasn't a lot of time, and it certainly was not enough for Shiro to get up, run to his lion and fly out of the area to prevent further interference. However, they did have all the time in the world at the moment. The beaten, destroyed and fallen sentries scattered around them were proof that Voltron completed the mission, and were allowed to just be children for a while.

"Actually, what if I turn off the-"

"Pidge, no. Whatever you do, do not interfere with the arm itself." Shiro scolds, "We don't know the exact components used and what the arm is capable of-OUCH."

"Oops! Sorry Shiro!" Hunk splutters, releasing his grip on Shiro "I just-sorry-I'm such a klutz!"

"You know, it _might_ be faster-"

"Pidge. Not that I don't support you and your curiosity and interest in science, but right now, let's not try anything deadly." Shiro pleads, he hopes whatever spirit out there is on his side, and that he doesn't have to lose his arm again because of experimentation.

"Me? Deadly? Never!"

Keith was never one to be tok sighs, "Okay, what about that time you were attempting to bake cookies with Hunk and almost blew up the entire castle-ship? Or the time where Lance stupidly-"

"Hey!"

"Agreed to you modifying his lion and almost, again, blew up the castle-ship." Keith finishes, sending a quick glare at Lance.

"I miscalculated, Keith." Pidge defends, grinding their teeth when they address the red paladin. "It happens sometimes."

Keith raises a questioning eyebrow at the green paladin before returning his attention to the matter at hand - "Guys let's focus on getting back to out lions before the Galra decide to send in backup."

Hunk and Lance suck in a deep breath before hoisting Shiro back on his feet, or at least they intended to. His right arm, however, refusing to leave the ground. Pidge readjusts their glasses, and glares at the analysis of the planet.

"What's up?" Lance asks, noticing Pidge's distress. "That sour face of yours always means there's bad news."

"Yeah," Hunk quickly agrees, "the plants going to blow up is it? I mean, from our shared and quickly traumatising Garrison experience, that face never means something good."

Keith practically growls at this point, hissing a "Get Shiro to the black lion!" at the two panicking paladins. Lance sticks out his tongue immaturely, but quickens his pace nonetheless. Pidge raises their eyebrows at Lance before sighing and mentally recalculating the chances of survival.

Honestly, Keith has had the craziest ideas. Removing the gravity of an entire planet? As opposed to cutting off an arm?

Okay, so maybe he made _some_ sense, given that this _is_ Shiro's arm. Shiro's arm that has been cut off before. Shiro's Galra arm that comes in handy from time to time. But putting so much pressure on a fourteen year old is just plain rude.

Hunk seems to have read Pidge's thoughts, as he lets out a tired "Just do the work, Pidge."

Pidge huffs, and comes up with an alternate algorithm, and another back-up plan, and the back-up plan of said back-up plan. It's really not because they don't trust Keith, it's because they don't trust that this is the _best_ plan of action to execute out of the sea of actions they could choose.

However, it does seem to be the fastest way out. And time is essential to Voltron.

They get to the black lion. Pidge hopes that whatever they just drew up mentally actually works, and that lives will not be taken this day. They send it up to Coran, who informs the Princess exactly what kind of beam of energy they need. Pidge scurries to set up the needed equipment to neutralise the magnetic field.

Coran counts down.

Shiro braces for his arm not to detach _again_ , but he trusts Pidge and their choices.

 _The momentum shifts._

Shiro climbs up the black lion with the help of his spacesuit as the rest follow onto their respective lions. Pidge and Lance highfive at the positive result and Hunk gives Pidge a quick pat on their head. Keith thanks Pidge through the comms, and the lions lift off.

O.o.O

Shiro swears he hears giggling through the vents. Worst of all, it's not just one person's giggling echoing through the dimmed room. Sounds a little like Lance and Pidge, but then again…he's probably either paranoid or too tired. Today really didn't go as expected…

 _Probably too tired_ , he concludes.

O.o.O

Shiro wasn't in the best mood when he woke up considering he feels like his arm is tearing off his torso. He groans and shifts on the bed, however, magnetic fields had a different plan for him. His entire upper body hit the cold surface of the castle floor with a _thump_ , causing his entire mind and body to awaken.

He eyes the glass panel on the side of the room, noting that a new feature was added for leisure:

 _ **MAGNETIC FIELD CONTROL: ON 76%**_

He groans again and yells for Keith, in hopes that he'd come to his aid, and just _fix this mess._

* * *

TO:

The Best Guesst: YOU CAN'T SEE ME BUT I'M AGGRESSIVELY AGREEING. I'm honestly kind of losing hope for good writing? But nevertheless, I will keep watching. I can't just leave my space kids out there like that, I love them too much. Keith deserves all the love. The entire team deserves all the love. Also - self care is important! Please! Sleep!

KnightOwl247: I'M SORRY I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF, FORGIVE ME!

eyeore1994: Don't know if you've read up to here yet, but thank you for your review! Appreciate it greatly!


	16. Keith! Sandwich! Stat!

#15: Keith! Sandwich! Stat!

Hunk deserves a sandwich made from Keith. Yes, that's it. (Inspired by Hunk's line in S03) set **during Season 3**

 **A/N: I apologise for the lack of updates lately! School is a real pain in the ass! I promise theres a proper lineup for these one shots, however I will say that updates will be decreasing due to the mountainous pile of work I need to get through. Anyway, thank you for all your support and Happy New Year! Wish you all the best!**

* * *

Losing Shiro took a toll on everyone. Keith was most affected by the second disappearance of his brother figure, and the team didn't blame him for acting this way. Sure, he was An Ass™ sometimes, and his stubbornness would decrease his ability to make clear and safe choices, but the team knew that Keith didn't actively want to be so aggressive to his teammates.

Keith knew he was being childish. They were fighting a war, and losses in wars were as common as rain on Earth. It was a natural process that can be expected when you plunge yourself in to an intergalactic war. However, it didn't excuse the way he acted towards everyone else. He knows it hurts Pidge when he snaps at them. He knows he wounds Lance by putting himself and/or the team in danger. He knows Allura is trying her best to stay composed as well, and Coran is trying his best to keep the team laughing. He knows his lack of appetite and healthy decisions worries Hunk. He knows that this cannot go on, but it's just so hard to stop caring about Shiro, especially when Shiro never stopped caring about or believing in him.

He thinks he hurt Hunk the most. Hunk was the first to accept Keith as Galran, even Shiro was a little weirded out by the fact, but Hunk embraced him and all his Galra-ness. Treating Hunk this way only put salt on Keith's metaphorically already infected wound (due to Shiro's disappearance).

An apology is in order - That's a certainty among the vast blackness of life, death, confusion and incomprehensible things in space.

He walks himself to the kitchen, flicking the lights on lazily. He blinks too many times in a tick to adjust to the light of the kitchen. He's sort of relieved that no one is up at this unholy hour, the team deserves to rest for a bit. Shirt drenched with sweat and hair tied back messily, Keith opens the makeshift fridge taking in the scent of coldness amongst other space foods. Keith recalls Hunk whining about missing Earth food, however, Keith didn't really know more than half the things Hunk listed. He does remember how to make a sandwich though. Maybe that'd be enough?

He sighs and shakes his head as he walks to get kitchen knives. How was it that he knew so little of Earth? Although, he has to admit that he was no expert when it came to gourmet foods, but why didn't he take the time to know anything? Hunk, on the other hand, decided to embrace all of Earth cultures, and appreciate them through the form of delicacies. Keith doesn't know if he's capable of doing something so simple - especially now, when all he worries about is "Is Shiro dead?" and "When and where will the Galra strike again?"

He appreciates his friends. Really. He might appear to hate their company, but he loves them…so much. He finds it hard to believe that he is willing to give up a lot of things if it ensured that they lived up to their potential. That's what they deserve.

Keith awkwardly places the ingredients resembling earth food onto the piece of "space-bread" as Pidge calls it (although they have no idea what it really is). Sure, the space lettuces might be slightly falling out, but he's sure that the friction between the ingredients are enough to prevent it from falling entirely. After placing the _neatly_ made sandwich, he places it on the closest plate, and prepared to head to Hunk's room.

Before he steps out, his eyes land on the clock on the wall. Beneath the alien letters is the approximate 'Earth time' in the zone they were in.

 **03:23 AM**

Keith curses, sets the sandwich on the table, and runs his left hand through his hair in frustration. He's getting sloppy. He should've remembered the time, or that the team doesn't train until they over exhaust themselves like he does (Coran says it's unhealthy, but Keith believes that he's timing his stamina.) He pulls a chair and sits down, eyes tiredly flicking around the only lit room in the castle before his eyelids get surprisingly heavy. The sandwich in front of him is more fuzzy, more…untouchable. His arms feel limp and his back aches from training.

His world turns black. A sandwich left forgotten, that is until another figure walks into the room.

The figure yawns, and rubs his eyes lazily while wondering why the kitchen is lit when he distinctly remembers that he left them _off._ His eyes land on a small figure hugging their knees on the chair, an untouched sandwich on the table. He tilts his head in confusion. He approaches the smaller paladin and pokes his cheek with a sly smirk. After all, it wasn't everyday where you are Keith curled up on a chair, asleep and not acting paranoid.

Keith's eyes flutter slightly, his lips slowly forming a frown from being rudely woken up.

"Oh hey Hunk." He mumbles half asleep. He was sure he wanted to..."OH HUNK HI!" He shouts as he jumps out of the seat.

"Hey Keith," Hunk smiles, glad that his friend isn't his usual half dead self.

"I uh, made this for you." Keith says pointing to the sandwich, he fiddles with his gloves as he tries to string together a sentence of explanation "As a uh...token of our uh...friendship?"

"That's super cool of you Keith! Thank you!" Hunk says, "I was actually on my way to make sandwich, it's like you read my mind, man!"

Keith manages to smile a little.

Hunk takes the plate and gestures Keith to follow him. They end up in Hunk's overly crowded room, with Pidge playing a game on their laptop occupying half the bed and Lance sat on the floor with his chin on the bed, cheering Pidge on.

"Comrades," Hunk says, "our other comrade has given us the gift of friendship and also a midnight snack, let us celebrate-"

"Hunk its way past midnight." Push interjects.

"Uh-I wasn't finished, Pidge."

Keith glances at the somewhat messy room, "what're you guys doing? You should be sleeping. Tomorrow might be a battle, and you can't fight without enough sleep."

"Oh come on, Keith. One night off isn't too bad." Lance pouts.

"It's been three consecutive nights." Pidge says.

"You're such a snake, gremlin." Lance mutters.

"Pick one, please, I'm either a snake or a gremlin. I can't be both, Lance."

"You gotta let lose at times, Keith." Hunk says, patting him on the back. "We haven't seen you actually relax for a while now, you might as well start now!" Hunk takes a bite from the sandwich, murmuring a "delicious" as he carefully makes his way to the other side of his room.

Keith, however, doesn't move. Lance groans and pulls Keith down onto the floor and refocuses his attention to Pidge and their game.

Hunk noticed that Keith's expression softens slightly. He smiles. This isn't a time to only mourn, this is a time to remind themselves that they still have each other.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm sorry if this seems angsty I did not intend for this to be - I promise.**


End file.
